Not the Same: Adding On
by bricann
Summary: Continuation to Not the Same - After Yusei was let out of the hospital, he had gone right back into full gear with getting ready for the tournament. Added, he continued his stubborn ways of pushing down his problems to keep his friends' constant worries off of him. Even though that usually failed to work. But hiding his troubles from his friends may be his ultimate mistake.
1. Worry

**A/N: I DO NOT OWN ANY OF YU GI OH 5Ds! ALL RIGHTS GO TO THE CREATORS! THE ONLY THING I OWN ARE MY OCS!**

 **Alright, guys! A few of you asked me through PMs, reviews, and in person (if you know me in person) for a continuation of Not the Same. I had already had ideas on how to continue it after I ended the last story.**

 **I'm making this continuation a separate file, since it isn't completely related to the main story arc of the original Not the Same. So this will be the continuation of Not the Same story. This is also starting right after the ending of the original story. In other words, since Not the Same ended in the "Putting It All Together" episode in the series, this'll be starting right before/in the episode where Yusei and the Signers meets Bruno and it'll go on from there.**

 **I hope that makes since. I write fiction better than I explain.**

 **I hope you like it and to those who asked, I hope this meets up to your wishes! Now onto the story!**

Chapter 1: Worry

It was about three weeks since Yusei got out of the hospital. Annoying Yusei a bit, the slash to his chest from the three men's onslaught was still healing. He didn't understand why it was taking so long to heal as all his other injuries were pretty much gone, save a few here and there.

But what made this one worse than the others is that it still hurt when he moved. Yusei knew that shouldn't be right. It didn't look infected, but it felt like it and yet it didn't. However, he also knew that if his friends knew about it, they would get overly concerned. He didn't want that, so he kept silent.

He just figured that since it was the worst and deepest injury, it was just taking a bit longer to heal. After all, it did go pretty deep and went from his right shoulder down to his left hip. Either way, he felt like it just needed time.

At the moment, Yusei was on his duel runner again, testing out the speed of his runner. He turned a bit, making him wince the slightest bit from his chest, but ignored it as best as possible. It probably wasn't a good idea to be doing this with his chest, but he need to get this done.

He slowly thought, _'This kind of speed is no good! I need a new engine that can surpass the limits no matter what.'_

After a bit, Yusei returned to the garage and began to make some more edits as usual. It wasn't long before Jack and Crow came in from either the cafe or his job. Yusei just focused on the program, though.

"Hey, Yusei," Crow greeted.

"Hey, guys," he responded as they came to the side.

"Making some more edits to the engine?" Jack asked.

"Yeah," Yusei answered. He leaned against his hands, elbows propped up on the tabletop. He forced himself not to wince. "I'm trying to figure out what exactly I'm missing."

"Yusei, we know you're still healing. You need to let yourself rest more," Crow told him. "You work on this thing day in and day out. When are you going to let yourself just rest up for once?"

"I'm just finishing up healing a few last scars," Yusei responded, lying a bit. "Nothing major where I need to actually rest like that."

"Yusei…" Crow groaned quietly.

"Every time I see you, you're either working on the engine or heading out for a job," Jack told him. "You never relax. And if you actually relaxed before, I'm sure those cuts would be completely healed by now."

"Maybe, but the tournament is getting closer and I need to figure this out so our duel runners can be up to par for it. Besides, you're the ones who made me promise to get this done before the tournament in the first place," Yusei responded.

Jack groaned and Crow said, "Yeah, but that before-" the bird named man stopped and groaned again. "Honestly, Yusei?"

"Yep," Yusei replied getting back to work, hiding the pain it made when he moved his chest again.

"How well has your chest healed, at least?" Jack asked. "That was one of the worst spots they hit you."

"It's fine," Yusei lied. "Getting close to scarring over."

"I really wish you didn't have all those scars on you," Crow commented. "It's just a permanent reminded of that place."

"Scars heal, Crow," Yusei responded. "I'm fine. You don't need to worry."

"After what those men did, can you blame us for worrying?" Jack asked.

"No, I don't blame you. It's just getting annoying when you check in on me everyday almost every time you see me again after we part ways for a bit. I'm nineteen, guys. I'm well able to take care of myself," Yusei replied calm. They rolled their eyes a bit.

"Yusei, you may be able to take care of yourself most of the time, but were you able to take care of yourself when those men took you?" Jack argued.

"Jack's right. You literally died for a second before they got your heartbeat back up again after that," Crow followed. "Honestly, Yusei, do you really expect us not to worry when you leave all the time? You left for a job one day and when _you_ actually came back, it was from us getting you from that godforsaken place and you being in a four week coma. We're all worried those men are going to come after you again. And who knows what they would do then?"

Yusei sighed and turned to them. "Guys, I'm fine. You really don't need to be that worried about it," he told them sternly. "You know I've been more careful when I'm driving around to and from jobs and other things. I _am_ well capable of taking care of myself. To be honest, I really don't like all this worry you guys keep throwing it me. Things happen that we can't change. But when things like this happen, all we can do is work to avoid them as much as possible on our own. So there's no point worrying about me like this. I appreciate that you care so much, but it isn't really needed."

"And there you go again…" Crow muttered. Yusei raised an eyebrow a bit.

"Yusei, you always shove away your problems to help with ours," Jack told him. "And you're doing it again. Why can't we push aside our problems to help you for once?"

"Because I'm practically healed and there isn't a reason to push aside your problems for me," he answered, blunt. The two men both groaned in annoyance and aggravation again. Crow was about to say something when Yusei cut in, "Can we be done talking about this already? I still have a lot of changes to make to the engine."

"Stubborn as ever," Jack commented seeming to getting angry. "Any of us could work on the duel runner while you rest, Yusei."

"What's the first thing you know about making a duel runner engine, Jack?" he retorted and Jack paused. "I thought so. And Crow is the only other one here who has actually made a duel runner from scratch."

"Yeah, and to be honest, even I wouldn't be able to change an engine up like you," Crow commented, looking up while rubbing the back of his head.

"Are you actually siding with him and saying he can keep working like this?" Jack asked his orange haired friend.

"No, but I am saying he's the only one at the moment who can make an engine like we want him to," Crow replied sternly.

"Then you're saying-"

"Enough," Yusei intervened sternly, making the argument stop. "And this is why I don't like people worrying over me like this."

Crow was beginning to see why Yusei was getting so annoyed with their constant worrying. They had been pestering him day in and day out and sometimes argued their views between each other like now. It had become a near regular thing. And it was all because they were ridiculously worried about him. They knew he didn't blame them for worrying, he said it himself, but he had justified reasons to not like it.

"Fine," Crow agreed shocking Jack. "You want us to stop worrying about you like this, fine. But if you disappear again at all, don't expect anything good from us."

"I did not agree to this," Jack retorted.

Crow immediately pulled Jack away from Yusei so they could talk alone while Yusei turned back to work in pure relief. The bird named man told his friend, "Jack, honestly, do you understand why he doesn't like us being so worried? I just realized it myself."

Jack scoffed. "And what is that?" he asked.

"We pester him day in and day out, and about every argument we have lately is about Yusei and his condition. It's becoming a regular thing. Wouldn't you be annoyed to no end if that happened to you?" Crow replied.

"Yeah, I would," Jack admitted.

"Yusei doesn't like people worrying about him, because he doesn't like things like this happening," Crow added. "And he pushes aside his problems to help with that."

"I guess that makes sense," Jack agreed. "Fine, but if he disappears again, we're using that marker to find him."

"Agreed," Crow responded.

"My main worry at that moment is that every time he moves his chest the slightest bit, he seemed to be holding down something," Jack commented. "Probably a spike of pain."

"You think his chest is in worse condition than he's saying?" Crow asked.

"With him and how he shoves things down, I would assume so," Jack answered. They looked at him for a second.

"Let's keep this between us for now," Crow suggested.

"Why?" Jack asked shocked. "If he's in worse condition-"

"If we push right now, he might just start shutting us out to focus on the engine," Crow reasoned. Jack went into a frustrated silence, knowing how true it was. "We can check on it tomorrow or something. After everything's cooled down."

"Yusei's really going to love that," Jack commented, but knew it was the only option they had at the moment.

With that in mind, they turned back to waiting to test the runner again or doing something else.


	2. Requests

**A/N: I DO NOT OWN ANY OF YU GI OH 5Ds! ALL RIGHTS GO TO THE CREATORS! THE ONLY THING I OWN ARE MY OCS!**

Chapter 2: Requests

Later that night, Trudge and Mina sat across from Yusei, Jack, and Crow in a fancy restaurant. As soon as they got the food, Crow dug in.

"Thanks. I don't know what this is about but…" Crow stopped mid-sentence, noticing Jack and Yusei weren't eating. "Come on, guys, eat." Yusei knew that was mainly directed towards him, but ignored it for the time being.

Meanwhile, Jack folded his arms as he said, "This is strange."

Mina and Trudge coughed a bit and Mina asked, stuttering a bit, "W-What is it?"

"Martha always told me, 'Nothing in this world is free. Be thankful to those who speak strict words to you. Watch out for a person who talks too nicely'," Yusei replied.

"It's just as Yusei says. You wouldn't treat us like this for no reason," Jack agreed.

Trudge and Mina obviously were getting nervous. "W-What is it?" Trudge stuttered like Mina.

"So there's no strings attached?" Jack asked.

Trudge hesitantly replied, "Truth is, we have a small favor to ask you."

"I knew it," Jack responded.

"It's nothing too difficult. We found a person with memory loss. We were wondering if you could take care of him," Mina told them.

"Why should we do something like that?" Yusei asked. He didn't understand the sudden request really. After all, Trudge and Mina could've found someone else to take care of this man. There was no true reason to ask _them_ as far as he could tell.

"Right now, New Domino City is busy with the tourists and turbo duelists. It's okay if just for a little while," Mina replied.

"Our garage isn't a hotel," Jack retorted.

"Besides, we can't take care of anyone right now anyways," Crow added still eating.

"Come on, Yusei," Trudge begged.

"Sorry, but we can't," Yusei responded.

"Jack, please," Mina begged.

"No," Jack refused bluntly.

"Can't you do something?" Trudge continued to Crow.

"Sorry, but we really can't," Crow intervened.

"You're being treated to something like this and you plan to refuse?!" Trudge asked mad.

"Where is he right now?" Crow asked.

"He should have been here a long time ago," Trudge remarked.

"If he doesn't come, we can't do anything," Crow told them.

. . .

Later, they walked back into the garage. As they walked, Crow said, "That was close. We were about to take in a stranger."

"That's because you ate all that food without paying attention to the details," Jack remarked.

"That's because I never know when I'll eat food like that again!" Crow retorted while Yusei sighed.

' _At least they're not arguing about me this time,'_ Yusei thought. That's when he noticed someone working on Jack's runner. Jack and Crow then noticed as well.

"What're you doing to my runner?!" Jack asked angry. "Are you one of those duel runner thieves?" He then punched the man in the face so hard, the man flew to the ground. "Don't ever come near my duel runner again! Be glad I'm only doing this to you!" He then drove off.

Yusei helped the person up and asked him, "Are you okay?"

"Yusei, we should just leave that guy alone," Crow told him.

"I don't think that's a good idea," he responded.

Trudge and Mina ran over. "What happened?" Trudge asked.

"It wasn't Jack's fault," Crow replied and pointed over to the man next to Yusei. "It's because this guy messed with Jack's duel runner."

"Bruno!" Mina called at the man. "Why are you in a place like this?"

Bruno got on his knees and apologized, "Sorry. I thought his duel runner was amazing and I got sucked up into it."

"Is this the person you wanted us to look after?" Yusei asked.

"Yeah," Mina answered.

"What should we do?" Crow asked Yusei.

"Even if I asked him to-" he was cut off by Jack coming in.

Jack grabbed Bruno and said, "I'll return him later." He then rode off again.

"What's going on?" Crow wondered.

"Let's go," Yusei said and turned to Mina and Trudge. "Let us handle the rest."

They found Bruno being thrown to the ground. "Please stop," Bruno begged. "I hate violence." Yusei quickly grabbed Jack's arm and stopped him from doing anymore damage.

"Jack, what's gotten into you all of a sudden?" Crow asked the Signer.

Jack ignored him and asked Bruno, "What did you do to my runner?"

"What're you talking about?" Yusei wondered.

"My duel runner's power has increased," Jack answered surprising Yusei.

"All I did was adjust the computer in your runner a bit," Bruno told them.

"Yusei tried to increase the power of our duel runners so much," Crow stated. "And you did all of that in that short amount of time."

"That's the only thing I can think of," Jack added.

Yusei walked up to Bruno and placed his hands on Bruno's shoulders, kindly asking him, "How did you do it?"

Bruno got up and went to a computer with Jack's runner on it. "I changed the timing of the boosters so it can power up slightly," he informed.

"I hadn't noticed it before," Yusei responded.

"What're they talking about?" Crow asked.

"I have no idea," Jack replied. "Don't let your guard down. I can't think of him as being an ally."

"This is also applied to Crow's and your duel runners," Bruno told Yusei. "If I tweak the program, the power should be greater than now."

"Really?" Crow asked.

"Crow, are you listening to what he's saying?" Jack asked.

Bruno turned to Crow. "I'll adjust it right away," he told the bird named man. Crow became thrilled about it while Jack face-palmed.

"Is your name…" Yusei asked but Bruno finished.

"Yeah, my name is Bruno," he answered. "You're Yusei, Crow, and Jack, right?" They nodded.

"With your skills, I want you to look at this. It's not moving so well," Yusei said and brought him over to his duel runner's computer.

"This is the Ener-D engine using your project," Bruno responded.

"Does it still rotate?" Crow asked.

"It doesn't yet," Yusei replied.

"It's just using a program right now. But it's better for you to use it," Bruno added. "The Ener-D in a duel runner engine gets worn down as it is used. But you can use the program to improve the speed."

"Isn't that what the new engine was for?" Jack asked. "Are you making a mistake?"

"Can you stay quiet for a while? We're talking about something important right now," Yusei told Jack.

Jack asked, "Are you serious?" Yusei ignored him and continued to talk to Bruno.


	3. A Genius Amnesiac

**A/N: I DO NOT OWN ANY OF YU GI OH 5Ds! ALL RIGHTS GO TO THE CREATORS! THE ONLY THING I OWN ARE MY OCS!**

Chapter 3: A Genius Amnesiac

The next day, Bruno and Yusei as they talked about some programming information.

"Thanks for the help, Bruno. Your suggestions have been helpful," Yusei told him.

"Your basics for it were solid. As I would've expected for Professor Fudo's son," Bruno responded.

"Did you know my father?" Yusei asked.

Bruno didn't answer to the question. "Professor Fudo's Ener-D is in all the duel runner engines. Any duel runner mechanic would know. Does your name come from the Yusei Gear?" he asked.

"I think so," Yusei replied.

"Is that true? It's an interesting name. The 'Yusei Gear' is an interesting name," Bruno responded. "One gear won't do anything. The central gear uses the surrounded gears to rotate." Yusei nodded in agreement. "If we were just using parts of the duel runner, what's the central gear that moves them?"

"It's the duel monsters that are with us in turbo duels. Above that, I have bonds with Jack, Crow, the twins, and Akiza," Yusei replied.

"It sounds wonderful," Bruno commented.

"Mina told us you lost your memories," Yusei mentioned.

"When I realized it, I was washed up on the beach," Bruno answered.

"Were you in some sort of accident?" Yusei asked.

"I don't remember it at all," he replied. "And when I work on duel runners and duel, it feels like I can remember something."

"Could you stay a while?" Yusei asked.

"Is that okay?" Bruno replied.

"Yeah. For the WRGP, we need a new machine," Yusei answered.

"If that's okay with you, I'll become part of the gear that reaches towards your dreams," Bruno agreed.

"Thanks," Yusei responded and they grabbed hands.

A while later, Jack and Crow were sitting around, with annoyed and bored expressions on their faces.

Leo and Luna then came into the room and Leo asked, "Yusei, can you come play?"

"Leo just found a new combo," Luna added.

Seconds later, Akiza came in. "Yusei, I have a problem with my physics," she said.

Yusei heard Crow shush them. They began to talk about Bruno a bit but the Signer kept his mind focused on trying to work on a program.

. . .

It was late the next day, entering the darkness night. As time continued to pass, Bruno and Yusei continued to type on the keyboard until they finished the program.

"We did it," Bruno said. "This program is a miracle."

"Yeah," Yusei agreed.

"Can I take a quick rest since I haven't had a rest for two days?" Bruno asked.

"Yeah, I haven't either," Yusei responded. "My friends are already going to kill me for that reason."

"How about we install the program into the machine tomorrow?" Bruno suggested. Yusei nodded and the two men went to bed.

. . .

The next day, they woke up to find the program they made was gone. There wasn't a sign of it anywhere and the Signer and amnesiac were more than certain it was stolen.

"The data was stolen?!" Jack exclaimed angry as soon as the two programmers told the other two men.

"I was careless," Yusei admitted. "I should have kept a backup."

"It's both of our fault. Both of us were careless," Bruno stated. "Right now, there's nothing we can do about it."

Jack grabbed Bruno and asked him, "Were you the one who stole it? I thought you were suspicious from the start."

"You're wrong. It wasn't me," Bruno replied.

"Let Bruno go," Yusei ordered Jack.

"Don't stop me! I'll get everything out of Bruno," Jack retorted.

"Jack, stop it already," Crow ordered, walking over.

"Why are you trying to protect him?" Jack asked sternly.

"There's nothing to protect. If Bruno did it, then he would have ran away after stealing the data," Crow reasoned. "What kind of thief would stick around after stealing something?"

"Whatever," Jack gave in and let Bruno go.

"Creating a program needs a lot of work. It's complicated," Bruno said. He folded his arms, adding, "It's near impossible to create the program Yusei and I made."

"The only way is to find the thief, then," Jack said.

Crow blew over the computer keyboard and said, "The guy didn't leave behind any evidence. I can't even find a fingerprint."

"Without any evidence, how can we find the thief?" Jack wondered.

Bruno seemed to realize something, prompting Yusei to ask, "What's wrong?"

The amnesiac walked over to the table where he got a cup ramen. "One of these has disappeared."

"Okay, one of the GoGo cup ramen is gone, so what?" Jack asked ticked.

He walked over to the desk and got out a metal chopstick. He went over to the trash can and got out a piece of a cup ramen pack. He examined it before noticing something useful. "I found the thief's print. The thief ate cup ramen while stealing the data." That surprised them. "The thief couldn't get the cover off and removed his gloves."

Yusei and Bruno began to type on the computers and Jack asked, "Are you really doing this?"

"Yes," Yusei answered. "If we enter the fingerprint into the Security database, we can find the thief."

"Security's database is protected by a strong firewall. If you make a mistake in hacking, we'll get caught," Jack stated.

"If we use the world's servers to hack, we can get in within five minutes," Yusei responded. After saying that, the computer screen showed different parts of the world, a red line connecting them. Yusei looked at Bruno. "Can you get in within five minutes?"

"I should be able to," Bruno answered.

"Should we stop?" Yusei asked Jack, almost tauntingly.

Jack folded his arms, replying, "I'll leave that decision to you."

"Then don't get angry if we fail," Bruno told Jack.

"Of course, I'll get mad!" Jack retorted.

Bruno then started to hack in. Seconds later, Yusei stated, "We're in." He looked at his fellow hacker. "Can you get through?"

"Yes, it seems like a simple system," Bruno replied.

"I don't get it," Jack commented.

"Bruno is really amazing," Crow followed.

"If we can pass this one, we'll be in the database," Bruno stated. They went through a slight digital maze and a door opened to reveal a duel monster cards on a duel field.

"What is this?" Crow wondered.

"It's a simulation duel," Yusei answered.

"I understand. Sector Security set up this simulation duel as the password," Bruno explained.

"Does this mean we can't proceed any farther unless we solve it?" Crow asked.

"It seems so," Yusei answered. "We have four minutes remaining."

"The information on the screen…" Bruno trailed off. "The opponent's life points are at 2300, while our own are at 1000; the opponent also has five monsters, a set card, and the continuous spell The Dark Door; On their field, they have Tragoedia who gains 600 attack for each card in your hand, so it currently has 3600 attack because there are six cards in their hand."

"The computer says, 'Wing in this turn'," Crow read.

"Since it's like this, the set card on the opponent's field is a problem," Yusei stated.

"In any case, we just have to make their life points go to zero this turn," Crow commented. He walked over to the computer Bruno was sitting on and told them, "Leave this to me." A small avatar version of Crow appeared on the screen. "With a monster of 3600 attack and Shooting Star Bow - Ceal… The answer is simple."

He equipped the equip spell to Green Gadget which lowered its attack from 1400 to 400, while Tragoedia's attack dropped to 3000. He then had Tragoedia attack Green Gadget. The computer, however, activated the face down trap, Mirror Force, which deflected the blast and destroyed Crow's monster.

"Through the effects of the Dark Door, both players can only attack once," Yusei realized. "This won't do us any good."

Jack grabbed Crow roughly and told him, "You're wasting our precious time!"

"But now we've learned something," Yusei stated. "We know that face down is Mirror Force."

"That means all of your monsters will be wiped out if you attack," Crow stated. "This is bad."

"Let's go. Your duel wasn't even worth watching," Jack stated and sat down at the computer. Yusei inwardly sighed. "Equipping an equip spell to an opponent's monster to lower their attack points is something you do when you're out of tricks. A duel is power. Trusting your own power is a duel." He equipped the spell Axe of Despair to Tragoedia bringing its attack to 4000. He then had the monster attack Green Gadget. The computer once again activated Mirror Force, destroying the monster.

Crow grabbed Jack this time and called, "Idiot! Yusei said it was Mirror Force!"

Jack grabbed Crow back and angrily said, "I was just checking to see if the set card would change."

"We don't have time for that," Crow argued.

"I didn't ask you," Jack retorted.

"We only have two minutes left," Yusei intervened. "This is our last chance."

"Why don't I do it?" Bruno offered.

"Can you win?" Yusei asked.

"Yes," Bruno answered. "Inside my memory, there are only duel runners and duels. I might remember something."

"I understand. Do it," Yusei responded.

Jack was about to complain when Crow stopped him, "Don't complain, Jack. There's no time." Bruno looked at the screen once again. "Can we solve this in just two minutes?"

Bruno's small avatar appeared on the screen. "The first problem is that Mirror Force trap card. We can't let it activate. One thing that can seal off Mirror Force is Ancient Gear Soldier, which has the power to stop traps from activating when it battles," he explained.

"But Ancient Gear Soldier is on the opponent's side of the field," Jack commented.

"That's where Tragoedia's effect comes into play," Bruno responded. "By discarding a card from your hand, once per turn, you can gain control of an opponent's monster that has the same level of the discarded card. Ancient Gear Soldier is a level four and the only card in my hand is the level six Alector Sovereign of Birds. But then I have the spell Cost Down in my hand, which can reduce all monsters levels by two if I discard a card first.

"Does that mean you'll change Alector's level to four?" Crow asked.

"Exactly," Bruno replied. He then activated Cost Down, removing Remove Trap from his hand and changed Alector from level six to level four. "Now through Tragoedia's effect, by discarding Alector, I can take control of Ancient Gear Soldier." The opponent's monster changed sides.

"So now you'll equip Axe of Despair to Ancient Gear Golem and attack Green Gadget," Jack commented.

"Not yet," Yusei corrected.

"It's just as Yusei told you," Bruno stated. "If I raise Ancient Gear Soldier's attack with Axe of Despair and even if I use Shooting Star Bow - Ceal to lower Greed Gadgets attack to four hundred, the damage will only be 1900. It won't be enough."

"What should we do?" Jack asked.

Bruno looked at the screen once more. "One thing stands out. Stronghold the Moving Fortress' effect," he stated.

"Its points are 3000," Crow stated.

"Its attack will only be 3000 when Greed Gadget, Yellow Gadget, and Red Gadget are on the field. If those three aren't there, then its original attack is zero," Bruno explained.

"You saw through it," Yusei realized.

Bruno discarded Shooting Star Bow - Ceal to activate Tribute to the Doomed which destroyed Green Gadget and pushing Stronghold the Moving Fortress' attack to zero. He then equipped Axe of Despair to Ancient Gear Soldier, increasing its points to 2300. With that, Ancient Gear Soldier attack Stronghold the Moving Fortress and sent the computer's life points to zero.

The Security bot's light turned from red to green and the door opened while the screen said "Clear". Everyone was glad that Bruno did it, but Bruno said, "We need to hurry and match the fingerprint." Seconds later, the match was found on the computer and a figure appeared on screen. Everyone was shocked, except Bruno who was confused. "Do you know this person?"

"This guy is… the Vice-Director of Sector Security. It's Lazar," Yusei answered.


	4. Programs

**A/N: I DO NOT OWN ANY OF YU GI OH 5Ds! ALL RIGHTS GO TO THE CREATORS! THE ONLY THING I OWN ARE MY OCS!**

Chapter 4: Programs

Bruno and Yusei drove in a pair looking for Lazar while Jack and Crow looked other places. Eventually, they caught sight of the clown faced man driving away in a car. They quickly but subtly followed him to a mall.

"Where is he going?" Yusei wondered. They walked through the mall when suddenly, the crowd got bigger and more thick. It didn't take long before the Signer and Bruno had noticed they had been tricked when they lost Lazar.

They hurried out and caught Lazar's car heading in another direction. "That's heading to the warehouses at the Satellite pier," Yusei commented.

"Then let's go," Bruno suggested. "Maybe we can cut him off before he can get to wherever he's going." Yusei nodded. They hurried off towards where they knew Lazar was heading.

. . .

Lazar walked inside and met a man, named Primo, in one of the halls of the building. "The program, sir," Lazar told him while handing over the data.

"You are dismissed," Primo responded and Lazar left. Primo turned to a surveillance camera and saw Yusei and Bruno entering the building. "So he's here. Looking for the program, no doubt. But he's too late."

Primo pressed a button before walking off.

. . .

The Signer and Bruno walked around the building and found a factory full of unfamiliar machinery.

"This is almost like a spaceship or something," Bruno stated.

"I guess," Yusei agreed.

They walked around to further investigate the area. Suddenly, though, alarms went off and a door slammed down, separating Yusei from Bruno.

"Bruno!" Yusei called.

"I'm fine!" the man called back. "I'll keep up my search on this side while you keep up yours."

"Be careful, Bruno," Yusei told him.

"Right," Bruno agreed and the Signer heard the other leave.

Yusei turned and walked around more, watching everything he passed and everything that moved. It didn't take long, though, before he noticed a familiar, purple haired clown turning a corner into a room.

Before Lazar knew anything else, Yusei grabbed him and pinned him to the wall. Yusei held Lazar off the ground slightly, with his arm at Lazar's neck. Yusei was struggling to ignore the painful jolts being sent at him from the movement of his chest.

"Oh, hello, Yusei," Lazar greeted nervously. "Wha-What seems to be the problem?"

"Where's the program, Lazar?" Yusei asked sternly.

"Why, I don't know anything about either of them," Lazar denied innocently.

"Don't play dumb, Lazar," Yusei ordered as his warning glare intensified and even Lazar grew slightly fearful of the deadly eyes being directed at him. "Where is it?"

"Uh… um… uh…" Lazar stammered. He was obviously trying to find a way out of the situation without telling anything of what he knew but he was struggling to with Yusei's glare that only seemed to grow stronger the longer he waited. "I… uh… You see, my higher ups… um-" Lazar was cut off as a robot came out, taking both of their attention to it.

"Orders received. Closing and locking all exits in room," he listed off.

The doors shut and were locked tight. "We're trapped here, then," Yusei stated. He sent another glare at Lazar before letting him go.

"Lockdown sequence complete. If the doors are to be unlocked, you must defeat me in a duel," the robot requested.

"So we have to beat that thing to get out?" Yusei asked.

"Correct," the robot answered. "Choose a player."

"Uh, how about you do it?" Lazar suggested.

"Fine," Yusei denied. "I'm going."

The Signer jumped over the railing and onto the ground. When he landed, he grabbed his chest a bit at the overwhelming shockwave of pain that was sent through him from the movement and jolt. Even so, he got his duel disk and deck ready in its slot.

"Duel initiated," the robot called. "Opponent may have first turn."

"Fine," Yusei agreed and drew his card. "I activate the spell card One for One! By sending Speed Warrior from my hand to the graveyard, I can special summon Level Eater (Attack 600/ Defense 0) in defense mode. I then summon Junk Synchron (Attack 1300/ Defense 500) in attack mode and activate its effect. This allows me to special summon Speed Warrior (Attack 900/ Defense 400) from my graveyard in defense mode with its effects negated. Now I tune Speed Warrior with Junk Synchron in order to synchro summon, Junk Warrior (Attack 2300/ Defense 1300)!" His monster came to the field with his signature punch. "And due to Junk Warrior's effect, it gains attack equal to the attack of all level two or below monsters I control (Junk Warrior: Attack 2900). I then set a face down and end my turn."

The robot drew his card. "Activating card, Level Limit- Area B! Now all level four or above monsters will be changed to defense position," it declared and Junk Warrior switched to its defense mode. "Ending turn with three face downs."

Yusei drew his card. "I activate Graceful Revival to special summon Speed Warrior from my graveyard in attack mode," he declared.

"Activating counter, Malfunction to negate the activation of Graceful Revival and resetting it by paying 500 life points," the robot fought and its life points fell to 3500. And since Graceful Revival was negated Speed Warrior returned to the graveyard. "And now since a counter trap card I control negated one of your cards, I can special summon Lock Dragon (Attack 0/ Defense 2000) in defense position. Now while Lock Dragon is in face up defense mode, both players are forbidden from special summoning monsters. I then activate Counter Force. This card gains one Charge Counter due to a counter trap card being activated. During my standby phase, I can send Counter Force to the graveyard and inflict 1000 points of damage to you for each Charge Counter that is on Counter Force."

' _That thing is going to try to put four counters on it, so it can inflict 4000 points of damage at me. I need to find a way around this monster and fast,'_ Yusei thought.

. . .

Meanwhile, Bruno walked into a new room and looked around in shock. Suddenly, the door opened behind him and he couldn't see who it was before he was knocked out.

. . .

"I set a face down and end my turn," Yusei finished.

The bot drew its card. "I activate Summon Pass! Now when a player normal summon a level four or below monster, the player's opponent draws one card and the summoned monster's controller must then call what type of card is drawn, a monster, spell, or trap. If the player calls wrong, the summoned monster is destroyed," it declared. "I set one face down and end my turn."

Yusei drew. "I switch Level Eater into attack position and activate Synchro Gift. By reducing Junk Warrior's attack to 0 (Junk Warrior: Attack 0) until the end phase, I can increase the attack of Level Eater by the original attack of Junk Warrior until the end phase (Level Eater: Attack 2900)," he declared. "Level Eater, attack Lock Dragon!"

"Countering with Negate Attack. This negates the attack and ends the battle phase. And then the effect of Counter Force activates, giving it a second Charge Counter," the robot countered.

"I end my turn," Yusei finished and due to it being the end phase, Level Eater's attack returned to 600 and Junk Warrior's attack returned to 2900.

The robot drew a card. "Setting one face down and ending turn," he declared.

Yusei drew his card. But that's when alarms started going off and lights blinked in an eerie, red glowing pattern. "SELF-DESTRUCTION INITIATED! PLEASE EVACUATE THE PREMISES IMMEDIATELY!" a mechanical voice called. It continued to repeat its warning over and over.

"Yusei, please hurry!" Lazar called.

"I'm trying, Lazar!" Yusei retorted. He turned back to the duel. "I summon Drill Synchron (Attack 800/ Defense 300) in attack mode!"

"I activate the effect of Summon Pass!" the robot called and it drew its card. "Guess the type of card."

"A trap," Yusei stated. The robot revealed the card to be the trap card, Barrel Behind the Door. "I activate Blind Spot Strike! This increases the attack of Drill Synchron by the defense of Lock Dragon until the end phase."

"Activating, Magic Jammer. This negates the effect of your card and destroys it by discarding Barrel Behind the Door! This also added a third Charge Counter to Counter Force," the robot defended.

"I end my turn," Yusei finished.

"Yusei!" came Crow's voice in over the PA system. "You need to get out of there!"

"Are you watching this?"Yusei asked.

"Yeah, and you need to get out of there now!" Jack replied.

"I can't. This entire room's been put on lockdown until I beat this robot. I have Lazar in here too and neither of us can leave until I beat this thing," Yusei explained.

"Then hurry it up!" Crow retorted.

"I'm trying, Crow. For now, all of you get out of here. I'll meet you outside," Yusei reassured.

"Yusei, you don't have time," Bruno responded.

"Just get out now! I need to focus," Yusei responded before he turned back to the duel again, blocking out Lazar's urgent - and annoying - calls for him to hurry.

The robot drew its card. "Activating Messenger of Peace! Now neither player can attack with monsters that have 1500 or more attack points," it declared. "And during each of my standby phases, I must either pay 100 life points or destroy Messenger of Peace. Ending turn there."

Yusei drew his card. "I activate Double Cyclone! By targeting my set Graceful Revival and your Counter Force, I can destroy them," he declared.

"Activating Solemn Judgement to negate the effect of Double Cyclone by paying half my life points," the robot declared and its life points fell to 1750. The effect of Counter Force activated, giving it a fourth counter.

"I tribute Level Eater in order to tribute summon Earthquake Giant (Attack 1600/ Defense 2100) in attack mode," Yusei fought but duel to the effect of Level Limit- Area B, Yusei's monster was switched to defense position since it was a level five monster. "I activate the effect of Earthquake Giant! Since its battle position was changed, I can switch Lock Dragon to attack mode. And this means Lock Dragon's effect is no longer applied to both players. And then I activate, Panic Wave! By destroying Graceful Revival, I can negate the effects of all face up Continuous Spell and Trap cards and any effect monsters you control this turn. So now I tune Junk Warrior with Drill Synchron to synchro summon, Stardust Dragon (Attack 2500/ Defense 2000)! Now Stardust Dragon, attack Lock Dragon!" The attack succeeded and the robot's life points fell to 0.

All the doors were unlocked and Yusei was almost immediately back up to the platform he had gotten off of the face the bot with Lazar. He immediately ordered, "Let's get out of here, now. You're giving me the program, afterwards."

Lazar gave the smallest of nods and they ran out fast. Right before Lazar was able to disappear, however, Yusei grabbed Lazar by the back of his shirt's collar. Jack, Bruno, and Crow came running up.

"Lazar, tell us now, where is the program?" Yusei ordered.

"I may have given it to my higher-ups at their order," he answered nervously.

"Are you serious?!" Jack exclaimed infuriated.

"I was ordered to! Don't kill me please!" Lazar responded fearfully.

Yusei rolled his eyes and let go of his grip on Lazar. "Don't think of doing this again, Lazar. Trust me, you don't want to," he told the clown who nodded and quickly ran off after.

"What're we going to do, Yusei?" Crow asked.

"Well," Bruno responded, "the only thing we can do is try to create it again."

"Think you can?" Jack questioned.

"We should be able to," Yusei responded. "It'll be difficult, but possible."

"Well, get to it. But this time, Yusei, try to get a bit more sleep," Crow told him. Yusei shook his head in annoyance before they turned to head back to the garage.


	5. Family Feud

**A/N: I DO NOT OWN ANY OF YU GI OH 5Ds! ALL RIGHTS GO TO THE CREATORS! THE ONLY THING I OWN ARE MY OCS!**

Chapter 5: Family Feud

It had been two weeks since the incident with Lazar. The new program was just about finished again. It had taken a bit longer since Yusei was practically being forced to rest by his other two male, Signer friends. Bruno was asking about why they were so persistent on rest and Yusei was a bit reluctant to tell him the basics of what he had told him friends and what he friends knew. He was still trying to not have nightmares every night from those dark monsters; In fact, his friends didn't even know about the nightmares.

Now, however, Zora stood outside the garage, watching something. the Signers, amnesiac, and twin walked outside to check on her.

"Hey, Zora, why are you so upset?" Crow asked.

"Oh, be quiet!" Zora yelled.

"What's troubling you?" Yusei asked calmly.

Zora sighed. "The town committee has decided they'll be replacing the cuckoo clock that I've cherished," she explained sadly.

They looked at it and Crow mentioned, "It isn't moving."

"Don't remind me of that!" Zora yelled.

"That's pretty awful. To lose something you care about," Akiza commented.

"Yes, indeed," Zora agreed.

"Why is Zora being so mean to me?" they heard Crow mumble.

"My son is coming to visit, but we're in an argument," Zora stated. She then covered Crow's ears and yelled, "You know!" Everyone couldn't help but laugh at it.

Zora stalked inside, leaving them to return to working on the duel runners. After a bit of working on them, Yusei heard someone open the door.

"Nice duel runners," a man complimented.

They looked up to see the man standing in the doorway. "Aren't you Zora's son?" Akiza asked.

"Yep," he replied. "My name is Lyndon. I set out three years ago to study clocks and just returned to repair the broken one here."

"Your actions were the worst," Crow stated.

"He's the worst," Jack corrected.

"Did you leave in order to train yourself?" Akiza asked.

"Yep," Lyndon answered.

"You should probably apologize to Zora, Lyndon," Yusei told him gently. "Try to make things right again." Lyndon seemed hesitant.

"Would Zora fight with you again?" Akiza wondered.

"Yeah," Lyndon answered.

"The stronger your bonds are with your parents, the harder it is to get words across," Akiza told him. The boy grabbed her hands and shook them in agreement to her statement.

Yusei grabbed Lyndon and pulled him away. "You should probably get to work fixing the clock," he told him.

"Yeah," Crow agreed. "The old clock is going to be replaced."

Lyndon immediately dashed to fix the clock. However, Akiza called, stopping him, "You need to change into something better."

. . .

Yusei, Jack, and Crow followed Akiza as she led Lyndon to a tuxedo store. She got Lyndon to dress in a tuxedo while they watched from the side.

Lyndon began to have a bit of trouble with his tie so Jack walked over. He grabbed the end of it and pulled on it tightly before Akiza stopped him.

"I'll do it," she stated and successfully, and easily, tied it in place.

"How did you learn to tie those things?" Yusei asked.

"My father needs to tie his tie every morning. So I got used to it," Akiza answered.

"Well, now that that's done, why don't we get you to your mother?" Yusei suggested kindly.

"Yeah," Lyndon agreed and they left. He asked them to stay outside while he confronted his mother.

They waited outside the door, just out of view, as his mother saw him, clearly shocked by his presence.

"Mom, I came back to fix the clock tower for you," Lyndon told Zora.

"Is this how Lyndon was supposed to apologize to his mother?" Jack wondered.

But just as Lyndon finished explaining why he left and why he came back, Zora picked up a chair and threw it at him. The son tripped but, thankfully, wasn't hit by the chair.

"It was you who broke the clock!" Zora yelled.

Crow came up and asked, "What happened?"

Lyndon explained everything and at the end of the explanation, Zora asked Lyndon, "Do you even have the courage to fix the clock?" Her son looked down doubtful. Lyndon turned to leave again but Crow stepped in front of him.

"You can't run away, Lyndon. How about a duel? If I win, you have to apologize to your mother and fix the clock. But if you win, you can do whatever you please," Crow challenged.

"Fine," Lyndon agreed.

They each grabbed their decks and duel disks. Yusei paid close attention to Crow's expressions as he knew his friend was going to pull something.

Lyndon went first and drew his card. "I summon Monster Clock (Attack 0/ Defense 0) in attack mode. That's all for now," he declared.

Crow drew. "I summon Blackwing- Fane the Steel Chain (Attack 500/ Defense 800) in attack mode. And since I control a Blackwing, I can special summon Blackwing- Gale the Whirlwind (Attack 1300/ Defense 400) from my hand in attack mode. Now Gale the Whirlwind, attack his Monster Clock!" he ordered.

"I activate the effect of Monster Clock! When this card is selected as an attack target, I can equip it with the attacking monster and increase its attack equal to the attack monster (Monster Clock: Attack 1300)!" Lyndon defended.

"Well, Fane the Steel Chain can attack you directly with its own effect," Crow stated and his monster successfully dealt damage dropping Lyndon's life points to 3500. "I end my turn there."

Lyndon drew his card and declared, "I summon Clock Knight No. 12 (Attack 1200/ Defense 1200) in attack mode. Now since I control a Clock Knight, I can activate the spell Clockwork to special summon Clock Knight No. 3 (Attack 300/ Defense 300) in attack mode, since its level is lower than Clock Knight No. 12. And then I activate the effect of Clock Knight No. 12 to flip a coin. If it lands on a Heads, Clock Knight No. 12 gains 1200 attack points for one turn. But if it lands on a Tails, Clock Knight No. 12 is destroyed." The coin flipped to a Tails but he defended his monster, "I activate the second effect of Clock Knight No. 3 to toss the coin again!" The coin landed on Heads this time increasing Clock Knight No. 12's attack to 2400. "And now I activate the first effect of Clock Knight No. 3 to flip another coin. If it lands on Heads, Clock Knight No. 3 gains 1200 attack points for one turn, but if it lands on tails, Clock Knight No. 3 will be destroyed." It landed on Heads jumping the monster's attack to 1500. "Clock Knight No. 12, attack his Blackwing- Fane the Steel Chain!" The attack destroyed Crow's only monster and dropped Crow's attack to 2100. "Now Clock Knight No. 3, attack Crow directly!"

"I activate the effect of Blackwing- Ghibli the Searing Wind (Attack 0/ Defense 1600) to special summon it from my hand in defense mode," Crow defended. Lyndon chose not to attack again and finished his turn. And due to it being the end phase, both Clock Knights' attacks returned to a normal 1200 and 300 points.

Crow drew his card to begin to his turn and Yusei caught sight of the card. "I set one card face down."

' _Mirror Force? We'll see if Crow actually decides to use it, with what I can tell he's thinking at the moment,'_ he thought.

"Then I normal summon Blackwing- Blizzard the Far North (Attack 1300/ Defense 0) in attack mode and activate its effect. This allows me to revive my Blackwing- Fane the Steel Chain (Attack 500/ Defense 800) in defense mode," Crow declared. "Now I tune Fane the Steel Chain and Ghibli the Searing Wind with Blizzard the Far North to synchro summon. Rise up, Blackwing Armor Master (Attack 2500/ Defense 1500)! Blackwing Armor Master, attack Clock Knight No. 3!" The attack succeeded and Lyndon's life points fell to 1300. "I end my turn."

"I think I'll forfeit," Lyndon stated in defeat.

"You better not forfeit," Crow retorted stopping him. "You need to see every duel to the end. Do you really want to give up in front of Zora?"

Lyndon looked at him shocked. He then grew a determined face and answered, "No, I don't." He drew his card. "I summon Time Wizard (Attack 500/ Defense 400) in attack mode and activate its effect. Now I get to toss a coin and if I call it right, I can destroy your monster," Lyndon played and called his guess. It turned out as correct and Crow's only monster was destroyed. "Monster Clock and Clock Knight No. 12, attack him directly!" The attacks went through and Yusei watched to Crow as the bird named man decided not to use Mirror Force, which would have given him the advantage and won him the duel. But since he didn't use it, the attacks hit and Crow's life points fell to zero.

"Nice duel, Lyndon," Crow stated.

Lyndon turned to walk away but Yusei stopped him by saying, "Lyndon, Crow was the real one who won this duel." He looked at him. "Crow could've used his set Mirror Force to destroy your monsters and the cards in his hand would've given him the edge to win. But he didn't. Instead, he lost so he could show you something."

"And what was that?" Lyndon asked.

"That even when you mess up, you can still win," Yusei answered. Lyndon looked shocked and confused. "Crow showed you that because you messed up in the past and you were running away from it. You were thinking that you were losing to it. But losing to the past is something you should never do." He looked at Zora for a moment who was in a state of shock. "Locking yourself to the past of which separated you from someone is something that is the same to separating yourself. You messed up when you broke the clock, but now it's the future and that time has passed into history. Now you can fix it and amend things with your mother, who I know deep down wants to end this long lasting fight."

Lyndon looked down in thought along with Zora. Slowly, they looked at each other and nodded. "I think Yusei's right," Zora stated. "This fight has gone on long enough. It is true that I don't like this separation that occurred so long ago. After all those years of happiness."

"I'll fix the clock like I told you I would," Lyndon stated. He looked at Yusei. "You're right, Yusei. Running away from the past is something I've done too long. And it's something I need to change in myself, to have myself look more towards the future."

Yusei nodded with a small grin. "Good to hear," he told him and he grinned back.

With that, they all went inside for a while to hang out while Lyndon fixed the clock.


	6. Town in War

**A/N: I DO NOT OWN ANY OF YU GI OH 5Ds! ALL RIGHTS GO TO THE CREATORS! THE ONLY THING I OWN ARE MY OCS!**

Chapter 6: Town in War

Yusei had slowly woken up a morning about three day since Zora and Lyndon's reunion. It was about three months or so before the World Racing Grand Prix would start. But the program was done and all that was left was to put it into the duel runners. He owed a lot to Bruno for the accomplishment.

He looked at the clock to see it was still six o'clock. But his attention was soon taken as he heard the door quietly close out front. Bruno and Jack would still be fast asleep and Crow's shift wouldn't have started for another two hours.

Yusei carefully sat up unsure, ignoring the spike of pain being sent from his chest. He still didn't understand why it wouldn't stop hurting. But his mind was on the noise from outside, so he carefully walked out of his room after getting dressed.

As Yusei walked into the work area of the living room, he saw a note on the desk. He walked to it and unraveled the folds to read it: " _ **I have heard of your friendship with him, Yusei Fudo. I want you to take him away from this town, as he'll surely die here. - Barbara**_." On the very bottom was coordinates to a town called Crash Town.

"Kalin," he muttered, knowing who this 'him' was. He looked down and thought, _'Jack and Crow won't like me going missing for however long this'll take. But they can't be involved in this. This Barbara contacted me alone for a reason. And if she knew I was friends with Kalin, surely she would know about Jack and Crow. So if she wanted them, she would've asked for them, too. So I have to go alone. Especially since it seems this'll be dangerous.'_

He then silently wheeled his duel runner out and disappeared to his destination.

. . .

Yusei soon crossed into a desert. He noticed something, though, in his peripheral vision. He turned to a cliffside and pulled to a stop as he reached it. He looked down it and was a bit shocked. Two men were chasing what appeared to be three escaping inmates.

' _Those three inmates are afraid of those two men for some reason. Why?'_ he thought. He was a bit sad, though, seeing them in that kind of fear. _'I wish I could help them…'_ One of the inmates threw a pendant up to the cliff which landed near Yusei. The two other men activated something on their duel disks which activated a taser function on the collars that the prisoners wore. The three men collapsed and Yusei was quick to call down, "What're you doing?!"

They turned to him. "We're simply taking these men back to the mine," one replied.

"You seem like a duelist. Crash Town might welcome you and you could get much work done," the second told me. The two men then departed with the now-unconscious prisoners.

Yusei picked up the man's pendant and looked at it carefully. _'I didn't come here for work,'_ he thought. _'I came here to save Kalin. I should better head to the town to get an idea of what's happening here.'_

Yusei took off again until he caught sight of the town. He pulled to a stop for a moment. That's when three men dressed in the same outfits as the ones from earlier who attacked the prisoners approached him.

"Hey, this is our town. So pull out your deck and duel," one said.

"I only duel duelists," Yusei responded calmly. He didn't like the vibe he got from these guys.

The men surrounded Yusei and one said, "This town belongs to us. No one talks to us like that."

"Alr-" Yusei began but a whip hit the ground cutting him off.

"Did you forget? Dueling before sundown is a violation of Crash Town's rules," a woman stated. She turned to the Signer. "Hello, Yusei. I'm Barbara, the one who wrote you the letter." He nodded. "Follow me and I'll explain everything."

Yusei turned and did as he was told, but kept watch on everything. There was something off about Barbara. He wasn't sure what to think, but there was something about her that was warning him about this woman. He had the sinking feeling that this Barbara was hiding something, a secret plan that she wasn't going to tell him.

' _I have to be ready for her to backstab me at some point,'_ Yusei thought.

The two soon arrived on a cliff, overlooking Crash Town. Yusei slowly asked, "So what's actually going on here?"

"This town's troubles starts at sunset," Barbara began. The time was soon as the sun was beginning its regular descent. Two groups of gangs entered the town from opposite directions. "The group with the red scarves is the Malcolm Group, led by Malcolm. The other is the Ramon Group, led by Radley."

"What's going to happen?" Yusei asked.

"Just watch and see," Barbara replied.

"Are you ready to be defeated Malcolm?" Radley asked.

"Try to beat the sensei of my group," Malcolm stated and a large man with a circular criminal mark. "Meet Giant."

"Who will I be teaching a lesson to?" Giant asked.

"Everyone talks big before a duel starts, not knowing that those words will be their last," Radley told him. "Now, how about my sensei? Kalin Kessler!"

Kalin emerged from the distance, playing a harmonica, shocking Yusei. "Kalin!" he exclaimed shocked.

"This town's duel time is at sunset. By the time the sun finishes setting, one of the two duelists will vanish," Barbara told me.

"What do you mean by 'vanish'?" Yusei asked.

"Watch," she replied as the residents of the surrounding buildings began to pour out to watch the duel.

' _If when they lose they become prisoners in those mines I heard about, how could anyone watch this happily or be okay with it?'_ Yusei thought thinking on the reasoning for Barbara's term of "vanish".

He looked as two men dressed as undertakers came up, riding a horse-drawn carriage. Both Kalin and Giant reached for the duel disks, which resembled a Colt revolver in my opinion, as the crowd yelled, "Duel!"

Kalin activated his first. Barbara began to explain to Yusei, "Whoever draws their duel disk and hand first will take the first turn."

Kalin drew his card. "I summon Infernity Mirage (Attack 0/ Defense 0) and set one card face down," he declared. He didn't sound confident or have any emotion other than defeat. And defeat was the only sound in his voice.

"Kalin seems different," Yusei commented. "His drive to duel doesn't seem there anymore."

"Kalin came to this town looking for a place to die," Barbara told us, and that shocked both Yusei visibly. She pointed to the mountain. "In that mountain is a mineral called dyne. It's used in the construction of duel runners. People rushed to the town to make money from mining dyne. Malcolm and Radley were in charge of the mining operation. They eventually started to use dueling to gather more miners. If one wins duels here, they stand to make much money. But the losers are sent to the mountain. Many great duelists were tempted by the riches and ended up in the mines after losing."

Yusei looked at Radley and Malcolm. _'What they're doing is completely wrong. But, I wouldn't doubt they're under the influence of greed and fear into one. With all this darkness… Fear is starting to take down this town,'_ he thought. _'I can't let that happen.'_ Both him and Barbara returned to the duel.

"I summon Illegal Keeper (Attack 1300/ Defense 1300) in attack mode," Malcolm's Giant declared. "I activate Card Destruction!"

"I activate my face down, Full Salvo! This sends my hand to the graveyard and inflicts 200 points of damage to you for each card sent," Kalin defended and Giant's life points dropped to 3200.

"Kalin's ultimate strength is when he has no hand," Yusei commented. "That Giant should be ready for anything."

"I activate the effect of Infernity Mirage! By tributing it, I can special summon two Infernity monsters from my graveyard," Kalin fought. "So I summon Infernity Archfiend (Attack 1800/ Defense 1200) and Infernity Destroyer (Attack 2300/ Defense 1000) in attack mode."

"I end my turn," Giant finished.

Kalin drew his card. "I activate Infernity Burst! This inflicts 800 points of damage at you for each Infernity monster I control," he declared and Sensei's life points dropped to 1600. "Infernity Destroyer, attack Illegal Keeper!" The attack destroyed his opponent's monster and dropped the other to 600 life points. "And now since Infernity Destroyer destroyed you monster and sent it to the graveyard while I have no cards in my hand, I can activate its effect to send 1600 points of damage at you." The attack hit and won Kalin the duel.

Yusei watched as Giant tried to run, but the undertakers lassoed Kalin's fleeing opponent. He had to force myself not to budge and try to help the man. As much as he wanted to, he knew it wouldn't be a good idea yet. Besides, he knew he couldn't reach the man in time anyway.

' _I'll save all the miners,'_ Yusei thought as they stuffed the large man into a casket in the back of the wagon and took him to the mountains.

Yusei then realized something. "Those three prisoners I saw earlier were running from the mines," he muttered.

"Kalin is trying to kill himself using this town," Barbara stated.

"Then why doesn't Kalin just lose on purpose?" Yusei asked.

"I don't know the answer for that," she replied.

"That's Kalin's fiftieth win in a row," Radley stated.

"You'll both be going to the mountains next time," Malcolm told Radley. Both groups left.

Yusei walked into town as Kalin began his trek away from him, not noticing Yusei was there. "Kalin," Yusei called and he stopped. He looked at the Signer over his shoulder. "You don't need to punish yourself for anything."

"Yes, I do," he responded and walked off again leaving Yusei to sigh.

Barbara walked up. "Why don't you try to talk to him through a duel?" she suggested. "But you'll have to join Malcolm's group to do so."

Yusei looked down to think about his options. He then looked up at her. "Alright, fine," he agreed. "Where can I find Malcolm?"

"He's at his villa," she responded. "I'll show you."


	7. Duel for Hire

**A/N: I DO NOT OWN ANY OF YU GI OH 5Ds! ALL RIGHTS GO TO THE CREATORS! THE ONLY THING I OWN ARE MY OCS!**

Chapter 7: Duel for Hire

Yusei slowly walked into a courtyard and heard Malcolm say angry, "If Lawton was still here, Kalin would be nothing and defeated with one attack."

The Signer entered the courtyard with a poncho Barbara had given me and said, "I'm here looking for some work."

The three thugs that confronted him in town earlier approached him while Malcolm stated, "I'll hire ya. But only if you prove yourself by defeating these three."

"Fine by me," Yusei agreed. They quickly drew, Yusei with a revolver Barbara had lent him, and drew the cards. Yusei was, thankfully, successful in going first. "I'll go first," he called. "I normal summon Changer Synchron (Attack 0/ Defense 0) in defense mode. I then set a face down and end my turn."

The first thug then played, "I summon Fuse Ray Blaster (Attack 1600/ Defense 800) in attack mode. I can't attack since it's a battle royal, so I'll end my turn there."

The second thug draw and declared, "I summon another Fuse Ray Blaster."

"And that activates the effect of my Fuse Ray," the first called. "This inflicts 800 to you." Yusei's life points fell to 3200, though Yusei didn't pay it any significant mind.

"I end my turn with that," the second thug finished.

"I summon another Fuse Ray Blaster," called the third. "That activates the effects of the other two, decreasing your life points another 1600." My life points reduced to 1600. "There are more than enough bullets remaining." They each showed their hands to show they each contained two more Fuse Ray Blasters. "Give up."

However, Yusei wasn't moved by the three and drew his card. "I send Quillbolt Hedgehog from my hand to the graveyard to special summon Quickdraw Synchron (Attack 700/ Defense 1400) from my hand. And since I control a tuner monster, I can special summon Quillbolt Hedgehog (Attack 800/ Defense 800) straight from my graveyard," I declared. "Now I tune my level two Quillbolt with my level five Quickdraw Synchron to synchro summon. Rise, Nitro Warrior (Attack 2800/ Defense 1800)! Next I summon level three Gauntlet Warrior (Attack 400/ Defense 1600) and then tune it with level one Changer Synchron to synchro summon level four Armory Arm (Attack 1800/ Defense 1200). And since Changer Synchron was sent to the graveyard, its effect activates, switching one of your Fuse Ray Blasters to defense position." The third thug's monster was switched. "Next I use the effect of Armory Arm, equipping it to Nitro Warrior and increasing its attack by 1000 (Nitro Warrior: Attack 3800). And then I equip Nitro Warrior with Junk Barrage. And since a spell card was activated this turn, the attack of Nitro Warrior increases another 1000 (Nitro Warrior: Attack 4800). Nitro Warrior, attack his Fuse Ray Blaster!" The second thug's monster was destroyed and he was defeated. "Now the effect of Nitro Warrior activates, switching the defense Fuse Ray Blaster to attack and allowing my warrior to attack again." The attack was made and the third thug fell. "And now I activate my face down, Synchro Overlimit, allowing a synchro monster that destroyed a monster by battle this turn, like my Nitro Warrior, to attack again. So, Nitro Warrior, attack one last time and end this!" The first thug's monster was destroyed, as was his life points.

Malcolm walked up. "Can I hire you to defeat Kalin?" he asked Yusei. "The cost will be high."

"I was hoping you would ask me," Yusei agreed. _'I'll find a way to save you, Kalin, and wake you up from this,'_ he vowed in thought.


	8. When Old Friends Clash

**A/N: I DO NOT OWN ANY OF YU GI OH 5Ds! ALL RIGHTS GO TO THE CREATORS! THE ONLY THING I OWN ARE MY OCS!**

Chapter 8: When Old Friends Clash

It was sundown and Kalin and Yusei were called to face each other. "Kalin, you don't need to punish yourself like this," Yusei told him.

"I have forgotten what it means to be satisfied," he responded. They quickly drew and Kalin got to go first. "I summon Infernity Randomizer (Attack 900/ Defense 0) in attack mode. I then end my turn with one face down."

Yusei drew his card, watching Kalin carefully. "I summon Speed Warrior (Attack 900/ Defense 400) in attack mode. Next I activate Fighting Spirit and equip it to Speed Warrior, increasing its attack by 300 for every monster you control (Speed Warrior: Attack 1200). And now that I am entering my battle phase the turn it was summoned, Speed Warrior's attack increases by its original attack until the end of the battle phase (Speed Warrior: Attack 2100). Speed Warrior, attack Infernity Randomizer!" the Signer ordered.

The attack destroyed Kalin's monster and his life points fell to 2800. "Since an Infernity monster was destroyed by battle and sent to the Graveyard, I can activate Infernity Reflector! This revives Infernity Randomizer and deals you 1000 points of damage by discarding my entire hand," he fought. His monster was revived while Yusei's life points fell to 3000.

' _Kalin's hand is empty now. This just got a lot harder,'_ Yusei thought. He then finished with, "I set a face down and end my turn."

Kalin drew a card and immediately set it. "Now I activate the effect of Infernity Randomizer to draw a card and send it to the graveyard. If the card I drew and sent away was a monster, you will take damage equal to its level times 200. If it's a spell or trap, I take 500 points of damage," he declared. He pulled the card and it ended up being the level six Infernity Destroyer dropping my life points to 1800.

Yusei drew his card. "I summon Max Warrior (Attack 1800/ Defense 800) in attack position. Max Warrior, attack Infernity Randomizer! And due to its effect, Max Warrior gains another 400 attack points during the damage step only (Max Warrior: Attack 2200)." His warrior destroyed Infernity Randomizer and dropped Kalin to 1500 life points. But since it destroyed a monster by battle, its attack fell to 900, defense fell to 400, and level fell to 2.

"Since I took battle damage, I activate my face down called Damage Gate which allows me to special summon Infernity Beetle (Attack 1200/ Defense 0) in attack mode since it has equal or less attack points than the damage I took," Kalin continued.

"Speed Warrior, attack Infernity Beetle! And thanks to the second effect of Fighting Spirit, by destroying it, I can prevent Speed Warrior's destruction," Yusei declared and the result was only Infernity Beetle getting destroyed.

Kalin drew his card. "I activate ZERO-MAX! This revives Infernity Destroyer (Attack 2300/ Defense 1000) in attack position and destroys your monsters since they have less attack than my Destroyer, but I can't conduct my battle phase this turn," he declared. "That ends my turn."

Yusei drew his next card. "I summon Junk Synchron (Attack 1300/ Defense 500) in attack mode. And with its effect, I can summon back Speed Warrior (Attack 900/ Defense 400) in defense mode with its effects negated. Now since I control a tuner monster, I can summon Boost Warrior (Attack 300/ Defense 200) from my hand in defense position. Now I tune Speed Warrior with Junk Synchron to synchro summon. Fight, Junk Warrior (Attack 2300/ Defense 1300)!" he called and his monster rose beside him. "And due to its effect, its attack increases by the attack of all level two or lower monsters that I control (Junk Warrior: Attack 2600). And now the effect of Boost Warrior kicks in, increasing all other Warrior-type monsters' attacks by 300 (Junk Warrior: Attack 2900). Now, Junk Warrior, attack Infernity Destroyer!" Kalin's monster was destroyed and his life points fell to 900.

"I activate the effect of Infernity Avenger (Attack 0/ Defense 0)! Since I have no cards in my hand and an Infernity monster was destroyed, I can special summon it from the graveyard in defense mode and make its level the same as Infernity Destroyer (Infernity Avenger: Level 6)," Kalin defended.

"I end my turn," Yusei finished.

Kalin drew his card. "I summon Infernity Dwarf (Attack 800/ Defense 500) in attack mode. Now I tune Infernity Dwarf with Infernity Avenger to synchro summon. Bring your might, Infernity Doom Dragon (Attack 3000/ Defense 2400)!" he called. "Now I activate the effect of Infernity Doom Dragon. This destroys your Junk Warrior and inflicts half of its attack as damage to you, however my dragon can't attack this turn." Yusei's life points dropped to 350. "I end my turn there."

Yusei drew his card. "I destroy my set Limiter Break in order to special summon Card Breaker (Attack 100/ Defense 900) in attack mode. And since Limiter Break was sent to the graveyard, its effect activates, allowing me to special summon Speed Warrior from my hand in attack mode. Now I tribute Speed Warrior to special summon Turret Warrior (Attack 1200/ Defense 2000) in attack mode. And due to the effect of Turret Warrior, its attack is increased by the original attack of Speed Warrior (Turret Warrior: Attack 2100). Now I tune Card Breaker and Turret Warrior with Boost Warrior in order to synchro summon. Take flight, Stardust Dragon (Attack 2500/ Defense 2000)! I then end my turn with one face down."

"I'm up, then," Kalin commented drawing his card. "I set a card. Infernity Doom Dragon, attack Stardust Dragon!"

"I activate Power Frame to negate the attack and equip it to Stardust Dragon, increasing my dragon's attack by the different between it and your dragon's attack (Stardust Dragon: Attack 3000)," he defended.

"I end my turn," Kalin finished.

Yusei drew his card. "Kalin, why are you doing this?" he asked him.

"When I let myself go off the deep end, I didn't care who I hurt or what I did. I became dark and cruel. I need to pay for those mistakes," he answered.

"No, Kalin. You already took back those mistakes. No one hates you or blames you for what you did," Yusei retorted. "You don't need to punish yourself like this. You have light in you. You're not who you were back then anymore."

"I…" Kalin stopped.

Yusei subtly sighed. "Stardust Dragon, attack Infernity Doom Dragon!" he ordered.

"I activate Infernity Break! This removes from play Infernity Dwarf from my graveyard and destroyed your Power Frame (Stardust Dragon: Attack 2500)," Kalin defended.

"I tribute Second Booster in order to increase the attack of Stardust Dragon by 1500 (Stardust Dragon: Attack 4000)," Yusei fought. Stardust destroyed his opponent's dragon and Kalin's life points. "Kalin, you don't need to punish yourself for back then. You aren't that person anymore, so don't act like you are."

"Yusei…" Kalin muttered.

Suddenly, though, a man on a large duel runner launched into the area and a man jumped off it. He glanced at the sun while Radley exclaimed seeming tense and angry, "Lawton!"

"Well, seems like it isn't too late for me to duel," the man, Lawton, stated.

' _And it'll be the last duel to send someone to the mines ever,'_ Yusei thought, thinking of the plan he put into motion.

"I'll wipe that smirk off your face, Lawton," Radley stated while they each quickly drew.

Lawton got the first turn and drew his card. "I summon Gatling Ogre (Attack 800/ Defense 800) in attack mode and set five face downs. Next I activate my Ogre's effect. By sending all five of my set spell and trap cards to the graveyard, I can inflict 800 points of damage at you for every spell and trap sent away," he declared and in that one move, Radley was defeated.

There was the sound of a shot and Yusei immediately sidestepped as a stun bullet barely missed him. He gave an inward sigh of relief. Barbara glared.

"You really thought you could backstab me, Barbara?" Yusei asked as he stepped aside and let another bullet fly passed him and into another gang member. Her glare grew in frustration. "I knew you were going to do this at some point and I was waiting for it to happen. I was a prisoner once; I'm not doing it again. So go ahead and try again, I dare you." She didn't move.

"What are you?" Malcolm asked. Suddenly, they heard a hoard of voices coming our way and turned to see the miners walking in without their collars. "What?! How did…?!"

Crow came up. "Yusei, what did we tell you about this?" he asked seeming angry. Yusei just gave him a bored expression. He turned to Kalin. "You back to normal or what?"

"Crow?" was all Kalin replied with.

Jack came over and helped Kalin up as he was sitting on the ground. "Get to your feet, Kalin. The past is past, you need to work to make this town better. Without doing this," he gestured to the free prisoners, "to other people."

"Like I said, Kalin, no one blames you for what happened back then," Yusei told him. "Help these people make a better town and I'm sure you'll see the light in you like we do."

"Yusei…" he muttered. "If they'll let me, I'll try."

The freed miners nodded in thanks to both Kalin and the Signers. The four leaders of Crash Town seemed beyond infuriated, but said nothing. The townsfolk seemed to angry with the miners and Signers. Yusei knew things were actually going to get better at this point.

"Yusei, let's head back now," Jack told him. "We need to talk about you disappearing all the time." Yusei sighed in boredom and annoyance, but nodded. They left with that.

"I swear, Yusei…!" Crow couldn't finish for a moment in his fury. "You had no idea how hard it was for me not to go at you right then and there! We told you to stop doing this after those men!"

"When I realized Kalin was the one in trouble, I didn't exactly have time to wait for you to wake up," he responded calmly.

"You could've at least left us a note to say how long to wait and where you were," Jack argued. "But instead, you didn't and we had to use your marker to find you."

"If you guys can use my marker to find me all the time, then you have nothing to worry about when I disappear," Yusei responded, seeming to get annoyed further and further.

"Yusei, did you really think we didn't try to use the marker when those men took you for those first three weeks before Two showed up?" Crow asked with a glare. Yusei didn't answered. "Because we did! And your marker wouldn't show up anywhere! So if those men took you again, we probably wouldn't be able to locate you again. Do you even understand why we're always so worried about you getting taken by those men again?"

Yusei stayed silent as his bangs hid his eyes.

"Yusei, the last time you were taken by those men and were freed, you nearly died," Jack told him. "You know that scared all of us to the core. If you were taken by those men again, I doubt they would even try to keep you alive. I can guarantee you, they would just kill you in the most possible way they can devise. Do you want us to see you nearly dead again or actually dead for good?"

Still no response.

"God, Yusei!" Crow exclaimed in an angry mutter. The Signer of the Head sped up and darted away before either of the two other Signers could say anything else. "Yusei!" He groaned. "Dammit, Yusei…" They sped up to try to catch up to him.

"He's locking himself up again," Jack commented. "We should've expected this."

"Yeah? Well, I'm just about ready to lock him in his room until the end of time," Crow responded, trying to calm down from his anger. "He needs to understand that after those men, we're not willing to just lose him again like that. We're his friends, after all."

"You know, Yusei. He locks away his own problems to help us and he hates it when we try to do the same," Jack reminded him. "Even though that isn't very helpful for him."

"It's just Yusei trying to play his style of hero for his friends again," Crow added. "Still, I hate it."

"I do, too," Jack agreed. "We still need to ask him about his chest. We keep forgetting to do that and it seems to be getting worse."

"What do you mean, Jack?" Crow asked.

"I mean, every time I see him move his chest at all, he winces or is visibly struggling not to," he explained. "Before, it was a lot more subtle and hard to see. Now…"

"Well, then, we need to check on him about it soon," Crow proclaimed. "If it's really getting worse, something may be up that he isn't telling us."


	9. Mystery Within a Mystery

**A/N: I DO NOT OWN ANY OF YU GI OH 5Ds! ALL RIGHTS GO TO THE CREATORS! THE ONLY THING I OWN ARE MY OCS!**

Chapter 9: Mystery Within a Mystery

Yusei and Bruno were at the Sector Security Headquarters with Trudge and Mina. They were discussing a lot of scenarios related to the Ghost and the two officers brought up the three men here and there as a possibility for a danger linked to the Ghost.

"It's a possibility, after what they said about a plan beginning in the tournament," Yusei agreed, trying not to cringe at the memories. "But either way, I feel like whoever made the Ghost and whatever or whoever this threat is is all linked together in some way."

"Like what?" Trudge asked.

"I'm not really sure. After what those three men told me while I was taken by them, I just have a feeling we'll find out in the tournament, if it isn't too late by then," Yusei replied.

"I don't know a ton about this, but Yusei may be right," Bruno added.

"You been doing alright since then?" Mina asked.

Yusei gave a small, annoyed sigh. "I'm fine," he answered. "I'm almost done healing and I honestly don't really like that same question or something similar being asked at me every day."

"Crow and Jack check on you a lot?" Trudge questioned.

"Every day," Yusei answered.

"They just care about you, Yusei," Bruno told him. "I wasn't there so I can't really understand why they're so worried; but after how hurt you were by what I've heard, I do think they would have a right to be concerned."

"Maybe," he responded. "It just feels like they think I'll end up dying at any moment, so they're try to make sure I'll be fine before that happens. It's just getting annoying after all this time."

"I guess I can understand that," Trudge responded.

"Besides, you are trying to forget your time there. Being checked on is just going to be a constant reminder that you were taken and hurt like that," Mina added.

"Tell that to the others, please," Yusei responded. "I've tried as much as possible to get them to back away a bit, but they're stubborn."

"Like you?" Bruno responded. Yusei raised an eyebrow, obviously questioning the amnesiac's point. "Yusei, you have your own unmovable virtue to push aside your problems to help with others'. I respect that about you; but for your friends who care about you like they do, it can be annoying. Especially after an assault like what happened."

"I know," he agreed. "Can we get back to discussing the main issues right now, though? I can worry about the others when they next ask me about my condition." They nodded in agreement.

However, they turned though as another officer hurriedly ran in and Trudge asked, "What is it?"

"There is a report that there is a time bomb inside the building," the officer information.

Yusei looked down suspiciously. Something didn't seem right. While Trudge and Mina called for an evacuation, he thought, _'Something isn't right about this time bomb. I don't think there really is one. So what exactly is going on?'_

Trudge ordered all of them out. But just as they went to exit the area, Yusei and Bruno noticed Sherry run in the building. The Signer immediately turned around and ran after her, ignoring his chest as usual, followed by Bruno.

Yusei noticed Sherry go through a door to the central computer terminal and Elsworth begin to shut the door. Bruno managed to slip through but Yusei was stuck on the other side.

Elsworth began to wire his duel disk to the door. The Jedi was nervous as to what exactly Sherry was planning. And he couldn't get through the door without Elsworth seeing him with his lightsaber which he had laying sideways against the back of his hip.

Once Elsworth's duel disk was fully wired to the door, he stated, "It is now impossible for the door to be unlocked unless I am defeated in a duel. If you want to get to Mistress Sherry and your friend, you will have to face me."

"Fine," Yusei agreed and they began the duel.

Elsworth went first and drew his card, "I summon Spirit Summit Warrior (Attack 1200/ Defense 0) in attack mode. Now since Spirit Summit Warrior was successfully normal summon, its effect activates, allowing me to summon Liberated Rear Warrior (Attack 0/ Defense 1200) from my hand in attack mode as it is a level three or below warrior type monster. Now I tune Spirit Summon Warrior with Liberated Rear Warrior in order to synchro summon. Come forth, Driven Daredevil (Attack 2400/ Defense 2100)! I end my turn with two face downs."

Yusei drew his card. "By sending Quillbolt Hedgehog from my hand to the graveyard, I can special summon Quickdraw Synchron (Attack 700/ Defense 1400) form my hand in attack mode. Now since I have a tuner monster on my field, I can special summon Quillbolt Hedgehog (Attack 800/ Defense 800) straight from my graveyard in attack mode. I then tune Quillbolt Hedgehog with Quickdraw Synchron in order to do my own synchro summoning. I summon forth, Nitro Warrior (Attack 2800/ Defense 1800)! Nitro Warrior, attack Driven Daredevil!" Due to Elsworth's monster's effect, it wasn't destroyed but Elsworth's life points still took the hit dropping him to 3600 life points.

"I activate the second effect of Driven Daredevil! This destroys your Nitro Warrior," Elsworth fought. "And then I activate Master and Servant's Resolve! Since your monster was destroyed by a monster's effect during the battle phase, you're dealt damage equal to the attack of your Nitro Warrior!"

Yusei's life points instantly dropped to a mere 1200. "I summon Tricular (Attack 300/ Defense 300) in defense mode and set one face down. That ends my turn," he finished. "What're you and Sherry doing?"

"I am here to help Mistress Sherry eliminate all her enemies, regardless of my cost to myself," Elsworth answered.

"Why are you so devoted to supporting Sherry and her mission?" Yusei asked the man.

"I do not have to answer that," Elsworth refused. He drew his card to begin his turn. "Now due to it being my standby phase, I will take 1000 points of damage to keep Master and Servant's Resolve on the field," he declared and his life points fell to 2600. "Driven Daredevil, attack Tricular!"

The attack destroyed his monster, but Yusei was quick to play, "I activate Tricular's effect to special summon Bicular (Attack 200/ Defense 200) from my deck in defense mode."

"I activate Reversal Sword! This destroys your Bicular and inflicts damage to both of us equal to its attack," Elsworth fought and they watched as Yusei's monster was destroyed and the Signer's life points drop to 1000 while Sherry's caretaker dropped to 2400. "I set a face down and end my turn."

Yusei drew his next card. "I summon Debris Dragon (Attack 1000/ Defense 2000) in attack mode. And now since Debris Dragon was successfully summoned, I can activate its first effect to summon back Tricular (Attack 300/ Defense 300) from my graveyard in attack position with its effects negated. And since I normal summoned a monster, I can special summon Turbo Booster (Attack 0/ Defense 0) from my hand in attack position," he declared. "Now I tune my Turbo Booster and Tricular with Debris Dragon in order to synchro summon. Take flight, Stardust Dragon (Attack 2500/ Defense 2000)! Stardust Dragon, attack Driven Daredevil!"

"I activate Standoff!" Elsworth fought. "And due to the first effect of my Daredevil, it isn't destroyed while your dragon is." But his life points still fell to 2300.

"I activate Stardust Dragon's ability to negate the effect of Driven Daredevil and destroy it by tributing Stardust Dragon," Yusei tried but it didn't happen confusing him.

"With Standoff in play, both players cannot tribute monsters on the field," Elsworth explained.

"Well, I activate Space Jump! By removing Stardust Dragon from play, I can inflict damage to you equal to its attack," Yusei fought and the assault succeeded and Elsworth's life point fell to zero.

The door was unlocked and Elsworth and Yusei walked into the room where Bruno and Sherry were finishing an analysis on a card. The Signer was a bit confused as to what they were doing.

"That's strange," Bruno commented. "There's nothing strange about the card." But more surprising, the terminal surges a storm of energy and Yusei ran to them only as they were enveloped in a burst of light.

Bruno, Sherry, and Yusei looked at each other and their surroundings that looked like a cybernetic plane. However, it didn't take long before they all noticed a strange mechanical object with an eye staring right at them. They stared at it but a high pitched frequency and light scanned us. The sound made Yusei cover his ears in pain while the other two fell unconscious.

"W-What is that?" the Signer muttered.

"Strange," said a deep voice that had a slight echo, while the noise stopped obviously making Yusei relieved. He looked as Bruno and Sherry flashed out. "Your mind is different. Very strange, indeed. But you are the mighty Yusei Fudo, so it shouldn't be too surprising."

"Who are you?" Yusei asked it.

"You will find out eventually," the being answered. "Do not worry about that."

Suddenly the sound came out again, only much louder and higher pitched. Yusei covered his ears, trying to block it out. Suddenly, though, there was a sharp pain in his chest like needles from inside it were stabbing through his flesh. With both attacks in play, it wasn't long until he fell unconscious as well.

. . .

Yusei woke back up to see Bruno and Sherry were beside me; though Sherry was still rendered unconscious, Bruno woke up. The two who were awake looked around. They were back in our world but were far from the Sector Security Headquarters. Elsworth came up.

"There you are, Mistress Sherry," Elsworth stated. He looked at Yusei. "I owe you a debt for not turning us in to Security, Yusei." Elsworth then picked up Sherry and drove off.

"What… just happened?" Bruno asked.

"I don't know," Yusei answered. "But that being in that machine… I want to know who he is and what is going on there."

"Did you talk to that thing?" Bruno asked. "I only saw it for a few seconds before I was knocked out by some sound."

"For some reason, I wasn't able to be knocked out immediately by that sound," Yusei explained. "But with that said, it means I was able to stay conscious for a bit longer. In that time, the man inside just said that my mind was different, which was strange to him, but it shouldn't surprise him too much since I was 'the mighty Yusei Fudo'. And then said I would find out who he is eventually before sending out the sound again only a lot worse and knocking me out." He touched his chest a bit where he could feel the pain from before dulling slowly.

"How did he know about you so well?" Bruno asked.

"I don't know," Yusei answered. "But I want to know. He might be related to the people who took me. If he's related to them and this threat that's been going on, I want to know how."

"I know you don't want me asking this, but you're touching your chest for a reason. Something wrong with it?" Bruno asked.

"At least you're not asking just to ask and actually have a real reason behind it. As for your question, not really. I… just thought I felt something for a moment," Yusei lied. He didn't like lying to Bruno, but whatever happened wasn't needed for them to know. "For now, though, we need to head back to Headquarters so we can grab out runners." Bruno nodded and they headed off.


	10. Confusion

**A/N: I DO NOT OWN ANY OF YU GI OH 5Ds! ALL RIGHTS GO TO THE CREATORS! THE ONLY THING I OWN ARE MY OCS!**

Chapter 10: Confusion

A few days later, Yusei, Jack, Crow, Akiza, and Bruno were together in the garage making sure the improved duel runners would be okay.

"Think they're good ?" Akiza asked sounding quite hopeful.

"We'll be practicing running them tomorrow. We'll be able to tell then," Yusei answered.

Suddenly, the door burst open and we turned to see Leo and Luna running in.

"We heard the duel runners are finished," Luna stated happily.

"Are they good to go?" Leo asked.

"Should be," Yusei answered.

"Nice new outfits, guys," Leo complemented seeing the outfits Jack, Crow, and Yusei were wearing.

"Thanks," Yusei responded.

"It's a bit uncomfortable, in my opinion," Jack stated. "I'm used to wearing my old clothes."

"Don't say stupid things like that. You're wearing the same clothes you always have!" Crow retorted.

"No fighting," Yusei cut in sternly making the fight cease before it began.

He knew they mainly stopped because they didn't want to bother him at the moment. He had been tense around them lately, since that two-thirds sided fight after Crash Town. They were struggling in refraining from checking in on him at the moment. They just didn't want to bother him and get on his bad side at the moment.

Luna looked at the name on the suits. "5D's?" she questioned. "Is that the team name?"

"Yeah," Crow answered. "Jack chose the name himself."

"Crow suggested it. It's better than using some other common name," Jack retorted.

"What does '5D's' even mean?" Leo asked.

"It means there are five D's. Like devil, destroy, dead hit, dark, daisuki Bruno-" Bruno listed off but stopped as Jack hit him on the head.

"It starts with this," Jack stated and showed his mark.

"The five marks of the Crimson Dragon?" Luna asked.

Yusei nodded. "Our bonds were called together by the Crimson Dragon," he explained.

"And even though I don't have a mark, Luna and I came to know everyone because of Luna's mark," Leo commented.

"You two are part of the team too," Jack stated shocking them.

"My name isn't there. Maybe we should call the team 'Bruno and 5D's'," Bruno suggested prompting Jack to hit Bruno on the head again.

Yusei sighed. "Jack, stop hitting him," he ordered calmly.

"I think it's a good name," Akiza stated.

They all put our hands together, and Yusei forced himself to show no pain or any sign that he felt any pain. He then proclaimed, "From today onwards we are Team 5D's."

"So, Yusei, how have you b-?" Akiza began but stopped as Crow made a gesture that said to not say anything.

"Please, stop checking in on me all the time. I am fine and will be fine. That's all you need to understand and know," he stated sternly, but he wasn't looking at them at all. "It's getting way to annoying dealing with pretty much the exact same question every day. I appreciate that you care, but you don't have to be so worried about me."

"Alright," Akiza agreed. "Sorry, Yusei."

"It's fine," he responded. "Just don't ask that question anymore." The twins and elder female Signer nodded in agreement while Jack and Crow seemed annoyed.

They talked for a bit on other matters before Yusei got a call for a job. He headed out with that. Akiza and the twins turned to the Signers of the Wings and Tail that were left of the three male Signers.

"I've never really seen Yusei that tense," Luna commented.

"Yusei's just got a lot on his mind and he gets stressed when worry gets pummeled onto him like what you five have been doing all the time by what he's told me," Bruno told them. "With everything on him, including the worry, he's bound to get tense. I think the fact he was called for a job will help him get a small break from it all."

"I'm not sure I'd call doing a job a 'break'," Crow responded.

"Maybe we should lay off of him a bit, though," Akiza suggested. "He was stressed enough before. We shouldn't be adding stress like that onto him even more."

"And when we were at Security Headquarters, Mina did mention that by checking in on him at least once every day, it's just another reminder that he was taken and tortured," Bruno added. "Hasn't he been wanting to forget his time there?"

"Yeah, I guess," Crow agreed.

"My only concern is his chest, though," Jack commented.

"Why?" Leo asked.

"Almost every time I see him, when he moves his chest, he is either fighting to not wince or wincing in pain," Jack explained.

Crow nodded. "I noticed it, too."

"Shouldn't his chest have been healed by now?" Luna asked.

"In normal conditions, it should be," Akiza answered. "And if he's still feeling pain in his chest, there must be something going on that the doctor's missed."


	11. Test Run

**A/N: I DO NOT OWN ANY OF YU GI OH 5Ds! ALL RIGHTS GO TO THE CREATORS! THE ONLY THING I OWN ARE MY OCS!**

Chapter 11: Test Run

The next day, Yusei stood with everyone at the stadium to check the preliminary match-ups for the World Racing Grand Prix.

"Are the preliminary round like a league?" Luna asked.

"There are thirty-two participating teams in total," Akiza explained. "And they're divided into blocks."

"Is the first team we face Team Unicorn?" Leo asked. "They're the guys we met at the opening ceremony, right?"

"Team Unicorn won the Atlantis Tournament and are rumored to be strong candidates to win this one," Yusei remarked.

Leo sighed. "It would have been nicer to not have to face opponents like that in the same block," he stated.

"Candidates to win or not, we'll defeat whoever stands in our way," Jack cut in.

"If we're aiming for victory, we'll have to face strong opponents sooner or later," Yusei agreed.

"This just means that time came sooner," Crow commented calmly.

"I guess that is true, but-" Leo began but was cut off by Bruno.

"Yusei, it's almost practice time," Bruno told the leader of the team. Yusei nodded and he, Jack, and Crow departed for practice.

"What did they mean by practice?" Luna asked Akiza.

"It's just a practice run," she explained to them. "They're testing the duel runners. Why don't we watch from the stands?"

They all agreed and walked towards the stands. They neared the circuit and a mechanical voice called for the lane to be used by Team 5D's for practice and asked for other teams to leave. They walked a bit farther when they spotted Trudge at the bottom of the stand at the opposite side of the wall. They walked down and greeted him respectfully.

"Did you guys come to support Yusei, Jack, and Crow?" Trudge asked.

"Yeah," Akiza answered.

"Why are you here in your Security uniform?" Leo asked.

"See the lanes?" Trudge replied and they looked at them. "Teams are using them for practice and rotate as time passes. Since they're not using auto-pilot, I'm here in case there is an accident."

"Here they come!" Akiza alerted all of them and they turned as Yusei and the others came out.

They rode passed the onlookers, giving them a wave. Yusei gave a small wave back with a small smirk.

Inside the lane, Yusei said to the others, "The performance of the duel runners have upgraded well."

"Yeah," Jack agreed.

"Now that it can go this fast, I'm going to win the tournament for Pearson and Bolton," Crow stated and Yusei nodded in approval. "Why don't we test the speed?"

"Practice time for Team 5D's is now over. Please leave the lane," the voice called.

"The other team is probably not even at the lane," Crow stated and sped up.

"Crow, wait!" Yusei called as he and Jack stopped off to the side.

Yusei grew alert as he heard another duelist coming up from the course entrance. But before he could alert Crow, another turbo duelist entered the course as expected. Crow didn't have enough time to stop and ended up crashing along with the other duelist.

Yusei ran up as Crow and the man stood up. Jack and the others were quickly by him. "Are you guys okay?" he asked.

"I am," Crow answered.

"I'm fine," the other duelist followed. The other two teammates from the man's team came out. The seeming leader came up and Yusei recognized him as Andre.

"Good to see you again," he told Yusei.

"Same, Andre," he responded. "So you're the team who's practicing next? You make up Team Unicorn, right?"

"That's right," he answered. "This is my team, Jean and Breo." They each gave a nod of respect.

"Were you trying to sabotage us?!" Jean yelled at Crow, angry.

"Calm down, Jean. Everything's okay," Andre tried to calm his teammate, which worked.

"Is there something we could do to make up for this?" Yusei asked.

"How about a duel?" Andre suggested.

"Fine with me," Yusei accepted. They each got on their runners. They activated Speed World 2 and took off like a bullet.

As the duel began, Yusei got the sense of something from Andre's other teammates. He listened carefully and heard Jean and Breo talking on their side of the track. "We need to watch Yusei duel," Jean stated.

"Yeah, I've heard Yusei's good. If we can learn how he duels, we can beat him," Breo stated.

Yusei looked at them for a moment and they looked in his direction, feeling his stare. The Signer quickly turned back to the duel followed by the other two. He took the first turn and drew his card. "I summon Max Warrior (Attack 1800/ Defense 800) in attack mode," he declared. "That ends my turn."

Andre drew his card. "I summon Playful Possum (Attack 800/ Defense 600) in attack mode. And since you control a monster whose attack is higher than the attack of Playful Possum, I activate its effect to destroy itself. And now since a beast type monster I control was destroyed and sent to the graveyard, I can pay 1000 life points to special summon Green Baboon, Defender of the Forest (Attack 2600/ Defense 1800)," he declared and his monster appeared as his life points fell to 3000. "Green Baboon, attack Max Warrior!" The attack succeeded and Yusei's life points fell to 3200. "I set two face downs and end my turn."

Yusei drew his card. "I activate the Speed Spell- Angel Baton! This allows me to draw two cards as long as I send one card from my hand to the graveyard. Then I activate another Speed Spell- Angel Baton. And now I normal summon Junk Synchron (Attack 1300/ Defense 500) in attack mode and activate its effect. This allows me to special summon Speed Warrior (Attack 900/ Defense 400) from my graveyard in defense mode with its effects negated. And since I control a tuner monster, I can special summon Quillbolt Hedgehog (Attack 800/ Defense 800) straight from my graveyard in attack mode. I now tune my Speed Warrior and Quillbolt Hedgehog with Junk Synchron in order to summon Junk Archer (Attack 2300/ Defense 2000)!" And since Quillbolt Hedgehog was removed from the field, it was removed from play as well. "Now I activate the effect of Junk Archer to remove your Green Baboon from play until the end phase." Junk Archer fired an arrow at the giant baboon and it hit the monster, making it disappear from view. "Now, Junk Archer, attack Andre directly!"

"I activate Battle Instinct! This allows me to special summon Nimble Momonga (Attack 1000/ Defense 100) from my hand in attack mode," Andre fought. The attack continued and Andre's monster was destroyed, dropping Andre's life points to 1700. "And now since Nimble Momonga was destroyed by battle and sent to the graveyard, its effect activates, increasing my life points by 1000," His life points shot back up to 2700, "and allow me to special summon two more Nimble Momongas from my deck in defense mode."

"I set a face down and end my turn," Yusei finished. And due to it being the end phase, Andre's powerful monster returned to the field.

Andre drew his card. "I activate the second effect of Playful Possum to revive itself (Attack 800/ Defense 600) in attack mode. Then I tribute Playful Possum and one Nimble Momonga in order to tribute summon Behemoth the King of All Animals (Attack 2700/ Defense 1500)!" he declared and his monster rose up onto the field. "And now since Behemoth was tribute summoned, its effect activates, allowing me to return the two Nimble Momongas in my graveyard to my hand. And next I switch the Nimble Momonga that is on my field to attack mode. Green Baboon, attack Junk Archer!"

"I activate Chain Arrow!" Yusei defended. "This increases the attack of Junk Archer by 500 during the damage calculation only (Junk Archer: Attack 2800)." His monster destroyed Andre's, while dropping Andre's life points to 2500. While since it was now after the damage calculation, the attack of Junk Archer returns to its original 2300 attack points. "And now I activate the second effect of Chain Arrow, reducing the attack of your Behemoth by 1000 (Behemoth the King of All Animals: Attack 1700) until the end phase."

"I activate Beast Burial Ritual to destroy my Nimble Momonga and draw two cards; however, I can use the drawn cards this turn," Andre played. "And then I activate the effect of Green Baboon, Defender of the Forest! By paying another 1000 life points, I can special summon it from my graveyard in attack mode." His life points dropped to 1500 while his monster did return as said with a full 2600 attack points. "Green Baboon, Defender of the Forest, attack his Junk Archer!" The attack succeeded and Junk Archer was destroyed while Yusei's life points fell to 2900. "Behemoth the King of All Animals, attack him directly!" The attack hit and Yusei's life points fell to 1200. "I set one card and end my turn." And due to it being the end phase, the second effect of Chain Arrow expired, returning Behemoth to a full 2700 attack points.

Yusei drew his card to begin his turn. "I summon Shield Wing (Attack 0/ Defense 900) in defense mode and set two face downs. That's all for now," he declared.

Andre drew his card. "I summon a Nimble Momonga (Attack 1000/ Defense 100) in attack mode. I send the Nimble Momonga in my hand to the graveyard to special summon Egotistical Ape (Attack 1200/ Defense 1200) in attack mode. And now I activate the effect of Egotistical Ape to increase its level by the level of Nimble Momonga (Egotistical Ape: Level 7)," he declared.

"I activate Shield Coat! This doubles the defense of Shield Wing (Shield Wing: Defense 1800), though on my second standby phase, Shield Coat will be destroyed," Yusei defended.

"Well I tune Nimble Momonga with Egotistical Ape in order to synchro summon Naturia Leodrake (Attack 3000/ Defense 1800)!" Andre declared and his monster appeared next to him. "Green Baboon and Behemoth, attack Shield Wing!"

"Well due to Shield Wing's effect, it can't be destroyed by battle for two times this turn," Yusei informed.

"Well, I still have one more monster to play. Naturia Leodrake, attack Shield Wing one more time!" Andre ordered. The attack hit and was able to destroy Yusei's only monster. "Now I activate Howl of the Wind! This inflicts 300 points of damage to you for every beast type monster I control!" Yusei's life points dropped to a mere 300 as the assault hit. "I set one face down and end my turn."

Yusei drew his card. "I summon Debris Dragon (Attack 1000/ Defense 2000) in attack mode and use its effect to revive Shield Wing in attack mode with its effects negated. Now I activate the Speed Spell- Vision Wind to revive Speed Warrior (Attack 900/ Defense 400) in attack mode. Now I tune Shield Wing and Speed Warrior with Debris Dragon to synchro summon. Take flight, Stardust Dragon (Attack 2500/ Defense 2000)!" he declared and his dragon flew up beside him proud and tall. "Stardust Dragon, attack Green Baboon, Defender of the Forest!"

"You're just destroying yourself, Yusei," Andre stated.

"Not quite. I activate Synchro Strike! This increases the attack of Stardust Dragon by 500 for each synchro material monster that was used to summon it until the end phase. So that means it is gaining a total of 1500 extra attack points (Stardust Dragon: Attack 4000)," Yusei fought. The attack hit and Green Baboon was destroyed while Andre's life points fell to 100. "Now I activate Speed World 2's effect. By removing four speed counters, I can inflict 800 points of damage to you for each Speed Spell in my hand. Like my Speed Spell- Final Attack."

But just as the effect of Speed World 2 is about to resolve, the mechanical voice called that Team Unicorn's practice time was over, stopping the duel.

Yusei pulled over by the others. The opposing team came up. "Nice duel, Yusei. Can't wait to see how you duel in the tournament," Andre stated holding out a hand.

"Same," Yusei agreed and they gripped hands.

Andre looked at the rest of the team and gave them a quick smile while the other two just watched Yusei suspiciously. "Well, we'd better go before the other team shows up," he stated. "See ya." They walked off with that.

"Yusei, any reason why the other two seemed suspicious of you?" Crow asked.

"I had heard them mention that Andre was just dueling me so his team could figure out how to beat you,"he explained nonchalant like. "They noticed me looking at them. But we shouldn't be too worried about it. For now, though, we should better get back to the garage, too." They nodded and they all left.


	12. Another Injury

**A/N: I DO NOT OWN ANY OF YU GI OH 5Ds! ALL RIGHTS GO TO THE CREATORS! THE ONLY THING I OWN ARE MY OCS!**

Chapter 12: Another Injury

Crow was speeding down the highway, approaching a turn. _'I can do more!'_ he thought. He began to curve around the turn when a shadowy figure appeared in front of him. But just before he crashed into the figure, he did notice something.

The collision sent the bird named man and his duel runner flying into the air, out of control. Crow went flying down the highway. He was about to hit the concrete and slid to a stop and sat up. He looked at Yusei drove up.

"What're you doing here, Yusei?" he asked his friend.

"I was driving by when I noticed you begin to crash, Crow," he explained. "Are you hurt anywhere at all?"

"I don't think-" he merely cried out, though, as he moved his right arm. They both looked to see it moved out of place.

"It's dislocated by the looks of it," Yusei broke down. "Mind if I pop it back into place?"

"Will it hurt?" Crow asked.

"No less than when the hospital will do it," Yusei replied.

Crow groaned in defeat. "Fine," he gave in. "But make it quick." Yusei gently touched the shoulder before with great speed, popped the joint back into place. Crow cried out a bit from it, but it quickly died out. "Ow…" he muttered under his breath.

"It's back in place, but we'll need a doctor to look it over to make sure there aren't any other problems," Yusei told him. "And to see how long it'll be before you can use the arm again."

"What do you mean before I can use the arm again?! I can use it quickly after, right?!" Crow retorted.

"Of course not, Crow. Dislocating a bone is as bad as breaking it, if not a bit worse," Yusei replied sternly. "We just have to hope it's not too bad or has any other damage. Until we get it looked at, though, don't move the arm. I'll call a mechanic for your runner and alert the others about what happened. Do you understand?"

"How do you know all this stuff, Yusei?" Crow asked as the Jedi stood up.

"When I was younger, I dislocated a bone. It was bad, too. Couldn't use the arm for a month," Yusei explained.

"I… didn't know," Crow responded, not realizing how much Yusei would know on dislocating a bone.

"I wouldn't expect you to. I never told you about it and it was before we met," Yusei told him. He then turned and called who he needed to before taking Crow to the hospital to get his arm checked out.

At the doctor's, Akiza and the twins came to meet the guys. "We heard Crow got into an accident," Akiza stated.

"What happened?" Luna asked.

"Crow crashed into something and dislocated his shoulder. I put it back in place and we're just waiting to hear how long it'll probably be before he can use the arm again," Yusei explained.

The doctor and Crow walked out. "I see someone relocated Crow's shoulder, am I correct?" the doctor asked.

"I did," Yusei answered.

"You helped us a great deal with that. He just shouldn't use that arm until it's fully healed," the doctor informed.

"How long will that be?" Luna asked.

"It should be fully healed within a month," the doctor answered.

"But the prelims are in three days!" Akiza exclaimed.

Crow began to beg the doctor to let him participate in the tournament, but the doctor refuses. The angered Crow and he moved to take his cast off, only to cry out from the pain.

"Crow!" Yusei called followed by Jack.

"Crow, stop," Luna told him worriedly. "You'll just make it worse."

"Why? Why now? What am I going to tell the nerds?" Crow muttered as tears began to fall down his cheeks.

. . .

Jack and Yusei were discussing what they were going to do now that Crow was out of action.

Bruno came downstairs, "You'll lose life points if you continue with only two players," he stated.

"We can't afford that," Yusei responded.

"Then I'll participate," Akiza chimed in and they looked at her. "I'm a part of Team 5D's too. And I have my own duel runner." Crow began to walk out and Akiza called, "Crow, wait-"

"Shut up!" Crow yelled. "You don't know how I am feeling right now!" He then walked out with that.

"Akiza, don't take anything he just said to heart. Remember, Crow loves dueling with everything he has. He had been looking forward to participating in this tournament for a while," Yusei told her. "He just needs time right now."

"Right," she agreed.

. . .

The next day, Jack, Bruno, and Yusei were on their duel runners searching for Crow and Akiza.

"Where are they?" Yusei wondered aloud

He then began to hear something as he neared the practice tracks. It sounded like Akiza's runner. So he turned to it, wincing a bit as he moved his chest. _'This pain is only getting worse…'_ he thought.

He then turned back to the situation at hand as he arrived and was quick to notice Crow in the distance with Akiza. He let Bruno and Jack know what he found and they were quick to arrive together and they came in to see Crow drilling Akiza, just as Akiza and Yusei were after the duel against Andre.

As Akiza passed by, she flashed Crow a thumbs up. They all turned to each other as the approaching group stopped in front of the two.

"You can really worry a person, Crow," Bruno stated with a small smile. Crow nodded with a slight smirk.


	13. One Duel, One Loss

**A/N: I DO NOT OWN ANY OF YU GI OH 5Ds! ALL RIGHTS GO TO THE CREATORS! THE ONLY THING I OWN ARE MY OCS!**

Chapter 13: One Duel, One Loss

It was time for the first round of the World Racing Grand Prix. Jack and Andre were setting up to race each other for first turn.

' _I have a bad feeling about this duel,'_ Yusei thought. He subtly touched his chest again. The pain just seemed to slowly continue to grow, bit by bit. He wasn't sure what was going on, and he was a bit nervous to find out.

Jack and Andre quickly took off to race for the first turn. Shocking everyone, Andre triggered an overboost system, causing an acceleration Jack couldn't match and forced him to settle for second.

Andre drew his card. "I summon Uni-Horned Familiar (Attack 0/ Defense 1000) in defense position," he declared. "I then remove from play Speed Spell- The End of the Storm from my hand in order to special summon Monoceros (Attack 1000/ Defense 1000) in defense mode. I set two face downs to end my turn."

Jack drew his card. "Since you control monsters and I don't, I can special summon Vice Dragon (Attack 2000/ Defense 2400) from my hand in attack mode with its original attack and defense halved (Vice Dragon: Attack 1000/ Defense 1200)," he declared. "Next I normal summon Dark Resonator. I now tune my two monsters together. I synchro summon, Red Dragon Archfiend (Attack 3000/ Defense 2000)! Now Red Dragon Archfiend, attack Uni-Horned Familiar!"

"I activate Uni-Horned Familiar's effect! By removing itself and Monoceros from play, your dragon must attack," he declared.

"Well, Red Dragon Archfiend, attack Andre directly," Jack continued.

"I activate Different Dimension Barrier- Lost Force! This negates the attack and inflicts damage to you equal to the attack of Red Dragon Archfiend," Andre defended and Jack's life points fell to 1000.

"I set three face downs and end my turn," Jack finished.

Andre drew his card. "I activate Uni-Horned Familiar's effect to return it to the field in defense mode," he declared. "And next I special summon Monoceros from my removed from play zone in defense mode along with D.D. Unicorn Knight (Attack 1800/ Defense 900) in attack mode. Now I tune Monoceros with Uni-Horned Familiar to synchro summon. Run forward, Thunder Unicorn (Attack 2200/ Defense 1800)! And since Monoceros was sent to the graveyard for a synchro summon, I can special summon Uni-Horned Familiar from my graveyard in defense mode. Next up, I activate the effect of Thunder Unicorn to reduce the attack of your dragon by 500 for every monster I control except Thunder Unicorn (Red Dragon Archfiend: Attack 2000). And now since I activate the effect of Thunder Unicorn, no monsters besides Thunder Unicorn can attack this turn. So, Thunder Unicorn, attack Red Dragon Archfiend!" The attack hit and destroyed Jack's monster while the Signer's life points fell to 800. "I set a card to end my turn."

Jack drew his card. "I summon Mad Archfiend (Attack 1800/ Defense 0) in attack mode. I then activate Powerful Rebirth! This revives Dark Resonator with its attack and defense increased by 100 and its level increased by 1 (Dark Resonator: Level 4/Attack 1400/ Defense 400). Then I activate Rage Resynchro to send Mad Archfiend and Dark Resonator to the graveyard and special summon Red Dragon Archfiend from my graveyard with 500 more attack (Red Dragon Archfiend: Attack 3500)! Now attack Thunder Unicorn!" he ordered.

"I activate Dimension Trap! By removing from play Uni-Horned Familiar from my field and Different Dimension Barrier- Lost Force from my graveyard. I activate the effect of Different Dimension Barrier- Lost Force as the effect of Dimension Trap," Andre defended.

"I activate Overpower to negate the effect of Dimension Trap and destroy it," Jack fought. The attack continued and Thunder Unicorn was destroyed while Andre's life points fell to 2700.

"I activate Parallel Selection! This allows me to add Speed Spell- The End of the Storm from my removed from play zone to my hand and draw one card," Andre fought back.

If that wasn't enough, back in the booth, Bruno stated, "That's not good."

"What?" Yusei asked as he, Crow, and the others got closer.

"The air intake system of Jack's runner is showing signs of malfunction," Bruno explained.

Despite the fact it would mean a loss of Speed Counters, the team called for Jack to make a pit stop. But Jack refused, insisting, "I have to defeat Andre." He made a counter attack that defied Andre's defenses, but it was still seeming within Andre's plan.

"Andre isn't a power duelist," Yusei realized and they looked at him confused. "He only used a power deck before as a lure. His deck truly takes advantages of attack. By going for a contest of strength, we played into his hands." That worried all of them.

Andre drew his card. "I activate the effect of Speed World 2," he declared. "By removing four speed counters, I can inflict 800 points of damage to you for each speed spell in my hand. Such as my The End of the Storm." Jack's life points fell to 0.

As per the rulings of the World Racing Grand Prix, it went to Andre's end phase and during the end phase, Red Dragon Archfiend was destroyed due to the last effect of Rage Resynchro.

Jack's duel runner activated the usual braking procedures, but a part of the mechanism burst. The vehicle spun out and broke apart. Yusei and the others were struck with worry and terror, helplessly watching Jack get thrown from the flying crash.

Yusei stepped forward, wanting to help, but quickly stopped himself just before Jack said, "Don't, Yusei. Remember, if a person helps me, we get disqualified." Still hurt, Jack picked up his duel runner and began pushing it all the way to the pit. "I won't let our dream end up in there."

Akiza was waiting. Meanwhile, the winner of the round, Andre, was allowed to keep doing laps before the new teammate was brought onto the track and as his does his speed counters increase for each lap until they reach a maximum of twelve. After that, the losing team have their speed counters decrease, and once they reach zero, that team will automatically lose.

"Akiza, get ready," Yusei told her. But as she did, Yusei noticed she was nervous. "Akiza, look at the crowd." She did so and noticed her parents watching. "Your current self isn't alone anymore." Yusei handed her a card. "Go."

"Wait, this is…" Akiza trailed off.

"Your opponent won't think of you using that card. That's where a chance lies," Yusei told her. "Now have fun with your turbo duel, Akiza."

"What fun is this?" she responded, obviously implying the plan was a reckless one. "But I will respond to your wish."

Jack arrived where Akiza was, with them only having one speed counter left. Akiza immediately sped off with him there and met up with Andre just in time.

Akiza and Andre raced for the first turn and luckily, Akiza got the first turn. After seeing this, Jack suddenly fainted and Yusei caught him, having the fastest reflexes out of all of them there. Mina, Carly and Stephanie were there and took him to the emergency room.

Yusei quickly turned back to the duel where Andre told Akiza, "Using the overboost system is starting to slow me down. Let's see how you face me."


	14. Thorns of Surprise

**A/N: I DO NOT OWN ANY OF YU GI OH 5Ds! ALL RIGHTS GO TO THE CREATORS! THE ONLY THING I OWN ARE MY OCS!**

Chapter 14: Thorns of Surprise

Akiza drew her card. "I'll start by summoning Phoenixian Seed (Attack 800/ Defense 0) in attack mode. "Next I send Phoenixian Seed to the graveyard to special summon Phoenixian Cluster Amaryllis (Attack 2200/ Defense 0)!" Her monster rose from the ground in attack mode. "Phoenixian Cluster Amaryllis, attack D.D. Unicorn Knight!" The attack succeeded and destroyed Andre's monster while dropping his life points down to 2300. After damage calculation, the effect of Phoenixian Cluster Amaryllis activated which destroyed it. But the second effect activated, inflicting another 800 points of damage at Andre making his life points fall to 1500. "I set a card."

' _Careful, Akiza,'_ Yusei thought.

Akiza removed Phoenixian Seed from play and revived Phoenixian Cluster Amaryllis in defense mode and she thought, _'Andre can destroy my Phoenixian Cluster Amaryllis with either a monster or his Speed Spell- End of the Storm so I can activate the second effect of Phoenixian Cluster Amaryllis,'_ thought Akiza.

Andre drew his card. "I activate the Speed Spell- Dash Pilfer!" he declared. "This allows me to take control of your Phoenixian Cluster Amaryllis until the end phase!" Akiza's monster flipped to her opponent's side of the field. "Next I normal summon Unibird (Attack 100/ Defense 600) in attack mode. And then I activate its effect! By removing itself and Phoenixian Cluster Amaryllis from play, I can revive Thunder Unicorn (Attack 2200/ Defense 1800) in attack position." While Akiza's only monster went to her removed from play zone, Thunder Unicorn returned to the field. "Thunder Unicorn, attack Akiza directly!" The attack hit and her life points fell to 1800. "I set one card face down and end my turn."

"I don't like this," Luna commented taking Yusei's attention to them.

"I gave Akiza a secret to help her," Yusei told them.

"What is it?" Leo asked while they all turned to him.

"Just continue watching," he told them.

Akiza drew her card. "First I summon Witch of the Black Rose (Attack 1700/ Defense 1200) in attack mode and activate its effect to draw one card," she declared and drew her card. "Since I added Rose Fairy (Attack 600/ Defense 1200) from my deck to her hand with a card effect, I can special summon it from my hand in attack mode. And then I activate the Speed Spell- Angel Baton to draw two cards and send one card from my hand to the graveyard." She drew the two cards while sending Glow-Up Bulb to the graveyard. "Now I tune my Rose Fairy with Witch of the Black Rose to synchro summon. Rise up, Black Rose Dragon (Attack 2400/ Defense 1800)!" Her ace monster rose to the field, roaring out ready to battle. Andre seemed concerned by the dragon's appearance. "Then I activate my face down, Star Siphon and use it on Black Rose Dragon. This allows me to summon a Siphon Token (Attack 0/ Defense 0) in attack mode with its level the same as the level of Black Rose Dragon (Siphon Token: Level 7) and making Black Rose Dragon level one (Black Rose Dragon: Level 1). Next I send Dark Verger to the graveyard to special summon Glow-Up Bulb (Attack 100/ Defense 100) in attack mode. Now I tune Siphon Token with Glow-Up Bulb to synchro summon! Bring forth the stars, Stardust Dragon (Attack 2500/ Defense 2000)!"

Andre looked at the dragon surprised as she played the card. Most of Team 5Ds looked at Yusei, shocked with him giving Akiza his best card. He didn't give them any acknowledgement.

Akiza then called taking their attention back to the duel, "Black Rose Dragon, attack Thunder Unicorn!" The attack hit and destroyed Thunder Unicorn while her opponent's life points fell to 1300. "Now, Stardust Dragon, attack Andre directly and end this!"

As the attack was about to hit him, Andre defended, "I activate Dimension Equilibrium to end the battle phase, remove Black Rose Dragon from play, and revive my Thunder Unicorn in attack mode!"

"I set two face downs and end my turn," she finished.

Andre drew his card. "I activate the Speed Spell- Speed Energy to increase the attack of Thunder Unicorn by 200 for every speed counter I have until the End phase (Thunder Unicorn: Attack 4600). Thunder Unicorn, attack Stardust Dragon!" he ordered.

"I activate my face down, Half Counter! This increases Stardust Dragon's attack by half the original attack of Thunder Unicorn (Stardust Dragon: Attack 3600)!" Akiza played. Though the attack succeeded in destroying Stardust Dragon and dropping Akiza's life points to 800, she wasn't eliminated from the duel.

"I activate the effect of Speed World 2! By removing four speed counters, I can inflict 800 points of damage for each Speed Spell in my hand," Andre fought. He reveals his Speed Spell- The End of the Storm.

"I activate Wicked Rebirth to pay 800 life points and revive Stardust Dragon in attack mode with its effects negated!" Akiza quickly played before her life points fell to zero.

"Looks like I decreased my speed counters for nothing," Andre stated. "That was a good move."

With the end phase of Andre's turn, the effect of Speed Spell- Speed Energy expired and Thunder Unicorn's attack returned to normal.

Akiza reached the pit and said to Yusei, "Sorry that I couldn't do anything."

"That's not true," Leo and Bruno told her.

"You did fine, Akiza. Now leave the rest up to me," Yusei told her, giving her a soft, comforting grin of reassurance. He took off with that.


	15. Three to One

**A/N: I DO NOT OWN ANY OF YU GI OH 5Ds! ALL RIGHTS GO TO THE CREATORS! THE ONLY THING I OWN ARE MY OCS!**

Chapter 15: Three to One

By the World Racing Grand Prix's rules, the field, speed counters, and the victor's life points are retained from the previous duel. Andre started with 1300 life points and eight speed counters and Yusei started with 4000 life points and five speed counters. Andre retained his field from the previous duel with Akiza and Yusei started with Stardust Dragon and Wicked Rebirth, which was equipped to Stardust Dragon, that were left by Akiza.

Yusei drew his card to begin his first turn. "I summon Max Warrior (Attack 1800/ Defense 800) in attack mode," he began. "Now Stardust Dragon, attack Thunder Unicorn!" Andre's monster was destroyed and his life points fell to 1000. "Max Warrior, attack Andre directly!"

"I activate the second effect of Thunder Unicorn (Attack 2200/ Defense 1800) to revive itself in attack position," Andre defended.

"Well, Max Warrior, attack Thunder Unicorn. And due to its effect, Max Warrior gains 400 attack during the damage step only (Max Warrior: Attack 2200)!" Yusei fought and both monsters were destroyed. "I set a face down and end my turn."

Andre drew his card. "I set two cards face down. That's all for now," he played.

Yusei drew his card. "First, I special summon Card Breaker (Attack 100/ Defense 900) by destroying your set card." It was revealed that the face down was the Speed Spell- The End of the Storm.

"I activate Magic Charge!" Andre declared. "This inflicts 2000 points of damage to both players as a Spell Card was destroyed this turn!" Yusei's life points fell to 2000 while Andre's hit zero. And due to the tournament's rules, it immediately went to Yusei's end phase and Andre passed the baton to Breo who proceeded in dueling Yusei.

"I wonder what kind of deck Breo has," Leo commented.

"Andre has won all of Team Unicorn's duels alone," Bruno pointed out. "So there's no information available on either of his teammates."

Breo drew his card. "First I summon Bicorn Re'em (Attack 800/ Defense 1600) in defense mode," he declared. "I then end my turn with two face downs."

Yusei drew his card a bit nervous. But he quickly shoved it down and out of his mind. "I summon Dash Warrior (Attack 600/ Defense 1200) in attack mode. And now since I'm entering the battle phase, the effect of Dash Warrior activates, tripling its attack until the end of the battle phase (Dash Warrior: Attack 1800)," he declared. "Dash Warrior, attack Bicorn Re'em!"

"I activate my face down, Negate Attack! This negates your attack and ends the battle phase," Breo defended and Dash Warrior's attack returned to a normal 600.

"I switch Card Breaker to defense mode and end my turn," Yusei finished.

Breo drew his card. "I summon Mine Mole (Attack 1000/ Defense 1200) in attack mode. Now I tune my Mine Mole with Bicorn Re'em in order to synchro summon. Rush forward, Voltic Bicorn (Attack 2500/ Defense 2000)!" he called. "Now since Bicorn Re'em was sent to the graveyard for a synchro summon, its effect activates, forcing you to send the top two cards of your deck to the graveyard. And now since Mine Mole was sent to the graveyard for a synchro summoning of a beast-type synchro monster, its effect allows me to draw one card." Breo drew his card. "And now I activate the effect of Speed World 2! By removing ten speed counters, I can destroy Voltic Bicorn. And this activates Voltic Bicorn's effect, forcing both players to send cards from the top of our decks to the graveyard equal to the level of Voltic Bicorn!" Yusei sent his cards to the graveyard along with Breo, leaving Yusei with a deck of 23 cards. "I end my turn with two face downs."

Yusei slowly drew his card. "First I activate the Speed Spell- Accelerate Draw which allows me to draw two cards from my deck!" he declared and drew his two cards decreasing his deck further. "Stardust Dragon, attack Breo directly!" The attack hit and Breo's life points fell to 1500.

"I activate my face down, Regretful Tuning to revive my Voltic Bicorn in attack mode!" Breo fought.

"I set two cards face down and end my turn," Yusei finished.

Breo drew his card. "Voltic Bicorn, attack Stardust Dragon!" he called.

"I activate Synchro Striker Unit and equip it to Stardust Dragon! This increases its attack by 1000 (Stardust Dragon: Attack 3500)," Yusei fought.

Breo called, "I activate my set Flattery! This increases the attack of Voltic Bicorrn by the difference of the original attack of your Stardust Dragon and its current attack (Voltic Bicorn: Attack 3500)." Both monsters were destroyed in the battle. "And now Voltic Bicorn's attack activates, making us send another seven cards to the graveyard." Yusei sent his cards to the graveyard along with Breo. "And next I activate Tuning Collapse! This makes you send the top eight cards from your deck to the graveyard since the number of cards equals the level of Stardust Dragon!" Yusei was now down to his last five cards.

"I set two face downs and end my turn," Breo finished. Yusei drew his card. "I activate my face down, Tricolor Illusion! Now none of your monsters can attack. Also, once during each of your turns, you must reveal the top card of your deck and depending on the type of card, an effect will take place. If it's a monster, it will be added to your hand but you must place another card in your hand to the top of your deck. If it's a spell card, it will be added to your hand. If it's a trap card, you must discard it and one other card in your hand to the graveyard. You can, at any point during your main phase, send the top card on your deck to the graveyard to destroy Tricolor Illusion." Breo then thought, _'Yusei's not a person who would gamble, especially with his deck having so little cards left. So he would either destroy Tricolor Illusion with its own effect or the effect of Speed World 2, and that would allow me to activate Destruction Trigger, making him send five cards from the top of his deck to the graveyard and make him lose the duel.'_

To Breo's shock, Yusei called, "I activate the effect of Tricolor Illusion!" He revealed his card to be Junk Synchron. So he put Scrap-Iron Scarecrow from his hand to the top of his deck. "And now I summon Junk Synchron (Attack 1300/ Defense 500) in attack mode. Now I tune Card Breaker and Dash Warrior with Junk Synchron to synchro summon. Rise up, Junk Destroyer (Attack 2600/ Defense 2500)!" His monster rose to the field. "Now since Junk Destroyer was synchro summoned, its effect activates. This allows me to destroy your Tricolor Illusion and your face down." The two cards were destroyed, shocking the opponent of Yusei's. "Junk Destroyer, attack Breo directly!"

"I activate my face down, Damage Lance! This reduces Junk Destroyer by 1000 during damage calculation only (Junk Destroyer: Attack 1600) and inflicts 1000 points of damage to you," Breo fought. Yusei's life points fell to 1000 while the direct attack continued and Breo's life points fell to 0. And after the damage calculation, the effect of Damage Lance expired returning Junk Destroyer to a full 2600.

Yusei watched as Jean, his newest and last opponent for Team Unicorn, came up to begin his turn. He was growing nervous but was careful not to let it show as Jean drew his card. This last duel would be the riskiest and the hardest yet, he knew that well.

"I normal summon Trident Warrior (Attack 1800/ Defense 1200) in attack mode. Now its effect activates, allowing me to special summon Delta Flyer (Attack 1500/ Defense 900) from my hand in attack mode," the last Team Unicorn member declared. "And then I activate the effect of Delta Flyer to increase the level of Trident Warrior by one (Trident Warrior: Level 5). Now I tune Trident Warrior with Delta Flyer to synchro summon, Lightning Tricorn (Attack 2800/ Defense 2000). Lightning Tricorn, attack Junk Destroyer!"

"I remove Shield Warrior in my graveyard from play to prevent Junk Destroyer from being destroyed by battle this turn," Yusei fought. But damage still applied dropping Yusei's life points down to 800.

"Well now I activate the effect of Speed World 2. By removing four speed counters and showing you my Speed Spell- Tyrant Force in my hand, I can inflict 800 points at you," Jean played.

"I remove Damage Eater that is in my graveyard from play and remove from play one card in my hand to negate the damage I would take and increase my life points by the damage I would have taken," Yusei defended and his life points rose to 1600.

"I set two face downs and end my turn," Jean finished. _'Yusei's exhausting his reserves. I just have to make Yusei run out of cards. Everything he does at this point is futile,'_ he thought.

Yusei drew his card. "I activate the effect of Speed World 2! By removing ten speed counters, I can destroy Lightning Tricorn!" he declared. The monster shattered into light particles. "Junk Destroyer, attack Jean directly!"

"I activate my face down, Reanimation Wave! This halves the battle damage and revives Lightning Tricorn at the end of the damage step," Jean defended. His life points fell to 2700 and his monster returned to the field.

"I summon Sonic Chick (Attack 300/ Defense 300) in defense mode and end my turn," Yusei finished.

Jean drew his card. "I summon Rhinotaurus (Attack 1800/ Defense 600) in attack mode. Lightning Tricorn, attack Junk Destroyer!" he ordered. The attack succeeded in destroying Yusei's monster and depleting the Signer's life points to 1400. "Rhinotaurus, attack Sonic Chick!" The attack destroyed Yusei's last remaining monster. "And now since two of your monsters were destroyed in the same battle phase, Rhinotaurus may attack twice during this battle phase. So, Rhinotaurus, attack Yusei directly!"

"I activate my face down, Harmony Crystal! By removing from play Junk Destroyer and Max Warrior, I can revive Stardust Dragon (Attack 2500/ Defense 2000)," Yusei defended..

"Alright, I won't attack," Jean finished. And due to the last effect of Harmony Crystal, Jean took damage equal to half the attack of Stardust Dragon dropping him to 1450. "I set a card face down and end my turn."

Yusei drew his card. "Stardust Dragon, attack Rhinotaurus!" he ordered and Jean's monster was destroyed while his life points fell to 750.

"I activate my face down, Thousand Crisscross! This makes my life points increase to 1000 since I have less than 1000 life points," Jean defended. "And when this effect is used three times, Thousand Crisscross will be destroyed."

"I set a face down," Yusei finished. "That's all for now."

Jean drew his card. "I activate Superficial Peace! Until the end of this turn, neither player can activate spell or trap cards and no monster can be destroyed in battle," he played. "Lightning Tricorn, attack Stardust Dragon!" Yusei's dragon wasn't destroyed but his life points dropped to 1100. "And now since you took damage, I can destroy your face down and draw one card." Yusei's face down shattered while Jean drew his card as said. "I set two cards face down and end my turn.

' _With only two cards left in my deck and an opponent capable of reading my moves so easily, this doesn't seem like it'll end well,'_ Yusei thought, his nervousness beginning to show.

Meanwhile his team was becoming a frantic in worry. Suddenly, from the sidelines, a familiar voice called out, "Yusei, don't show fear in this situation!" They turned to see Jack staggering out from the hospital wing, throwing off the assistance of Carly, Stephanie, and Mina. Jack turned to the rest of his team, telling them, "Don't give up on Yusei, no matter how slim the chances are."

"Right," Akiza agreed along with the others.

They all watched as Yusei was spurred into his next draw. He noticed he got a card he needed. "First I summon Synchron Exploder (Attack 0/ Defense 700) in attack mode and activate its effect. This allows me to revive Junk Synchron (Attack 1300/ Defense 500) from my graveyard with its effects negated. Now I tune Synchron Exploder with Junk Synchron to synchro summon, Junk Warrior (Attack 2300/ Defense 1300)!" He then thought to himself, _'Ever since I learned of that Accel Synchro summon, I have been looking for a new possibility of victory. Though I haven't found the secret of that type of summoning, I have learned an answer for this situation.'_ "I activate the Speed Spell- Speed Fusion! With it, I fuse Stardust Dragon with Junk Warrior in order to fusion summon. Fly up, Dragon Knight Draco-Equiste (Attack 3200/ Defense 2000)!" The monster rose and roared out, readying for battle. "Dragon Knight Draco-Equiste, attack Lightning Tricorn!"

Though Jean's monster was destroyed, he played, "I activate Return Damage! This negates the damage I would take and inflicts it to you equal to the battle damage I would have taken."

"Not quite. Due to the final effect of Dragon Knight Draco-Equiste, that damage is redirected at you," Yusei defended and Jean's life points fell to 600.

"Talk about a move!" Crow commented impressed.

"Yeah," Akiza agreed.

"What's up with Yusei's transformation?" Bruno muttered.

"I wasn't predicting for you to have such a monster," Jean told his opponent shocked.

Meanwhile, Jean's teammates were also surprised by the monster. "How did Yusei get that card?" Andre asked.

"No idea. We have no data on Yusei ever summoning such a monster," Breo replied.

Even through his shock, Jean continued the duel, "I activate the effect of Thousand Crisscross, returning my life points to 1000. And since Lightning Tricorn was destroyed by battle, I can activate its effect to summon Voltic Bicorn (Attack 2500/ Defense 2000) from my extra deck in attack mode."

"I set a face down and end my turn," Yusei finished.

Jean, being slightly angered, thought, _'Now I have to focus more on trying to get rid of Dragon Knight Draco-Equiste instead of focusing on trying to make Yusei run out of cards. After all, his new monster may have other effects that may turn the tables on me.'_ Jean drew his card. "Voltic Bicorn, attack Dragon Knight Draco-Equiste!"

"I activate Scrap-Iron Scarecrow!" Yusei defended. "This negates the attack. And after this effect resolves I can reset it." Jean's monster was shot back from its attack and Yusei's card reset itself as said since its job was done for now.

"I set a card face down and end my turn," Jean finished.

Yusei had one last card in his deck and he immediately put all his hopes on it. He drew it and looked at the card. "I activate the effect of Speed World 2! By removing four speed counters, I can inflict 800 points of damage for each speed spell in my hand," he declared and revealed the Speed Spell- Overspeed, knocking Jean's life points to 200. But Thousand Crisscross activated again returning Jean to a 1000 life points before it was destroyed. "Now I activate the Speed Spell- Overspeed! By removing all my speed counters, I can add Rapid Warrior and Reflect Barrier from my graveyard to my hand, but I can't gain any speed counters for the next three turns. And now I summon Rapid Warrior (Attack 1200/ Defense 200) in attack mode. I then activate its effect! This allows it to attack directly this turn, but no other monsters can attack." Rapid Warrior went to attack directly.

"I activate my face down, Barrier Wave! By tributing Voltic Bicorn, I can change all of your monsters to defense position," Jean defended and Yusei's monsters turned to defense mode. "And now you take damage equal to the defense of the monster that just attacked!" Yusei's life points immediately dropped to 900.

"I activate A/D Changer from my graveyard! This allows me to switch Dragon Knight Draco-Equiste to attack mode," Yusei declared. "I then end my turn with one face down."

"Will you continue to entertain me?" Jean mocked and drew his card.

"I activate my face down, Summon Tax! Until my second standby phase, if a monster is normal summoned or special summoned, the player who summoned the monster will take damage equal to half that monster's attack," Yusei played.

"I activate the Speed Spell- Tyrant Force! This prevents any of my cards from being destroyed this turn and inflicts 300 points of damage to you each time one or more of my cards are destroyed," Jean fought. "And now I activate the effect of Speed World 2! By removing ten speed counters, I can destroy Summon Tax."

"I can activate the first effect of Dragon Knight Draco-Equiste. By removing from play Stardust Dragon, I can grant Dragon Knight Draco-Equiste the effects of Stardust Dragon," Yusei declared. "So I activate the first effect of Stardust Dragon granted to Dragon Knight Draco-Equiste. By tributing itself, I can negate the effect of Speed World 2!" His monster disappeared. "And when it's your end phase, Dragon Knight Draco-Equiste will be revived due to Stardust Dragon's second effect granted to it."

"Well I normal summon Hypnocorn (Attack 1400/ Defense 700) in attack mode," Jean declared and the effect of Summon Tax activated dropping his life points to 300. "I activate the effect of Hypnocorn to destroy your face down!" The effect of Speed Spell- Tyrant Force activated dropping Yusei's life points to 600. "And now I activate my face down, Chain Whirlwind! This destroys your Summon Tax and face down Scrap-Iron Scarecrow." The effect of Tyrant Force activated again dropping Yusei to 300 life points, tying Jean's.

"If Jean ends his turn right now, Team Unicorn will win the duel!" the MC commented.

Jean thought, _'Should I really make Yusei lose due to having no cards in his deck? Could Yusei still have a reversal plan in this situation? If I end my turn now, it'll be a sure victory.'_ Jean looked at Yusei's set expression, making him hesitate.

To everyone's slight shock and respect, Jean launched an attack at Yusei, "Hypnocorn, attack Rapid Warrior!"

"I send Stronghold Guardian from my hand to the graveyard in order to increase the defense of Rapid Warrior by 1500 until the end phase (Rapid Warrior: Defense 1700)!" Yusei defended. The attack failed and Jean's life points fell to 0, leaving Yusei as the victor.


	16. Cheats of Catastrophe

**A/N: I DO NOT OWN ANY OF YU GI OH 5Ds! ALL RIGHTS GO TO THE CREATORS! THE ONLY THING I OWN ARE MY OCS!**

Chapter 16: Cheats of Catastrophe

The next morning, Yusei and the others return to the stadium with. We however looked over only to find that Andre and Jean had both crashed with Breo beside them in a state of shock. Yusei looked to the side followed by the others and saw their opponents, Team Catastrophe standing by in silence but with grins on their faces like nothing had happened.

"Our next opponent is Team Catastrophe, right?" Jack asked.

Yusei nodded before he walked up to Breo. "Breo, what happened?" he asked as the others came up to him.

"We're not sure. But we're not the only ones that Team Catastrophe has had crash. Every one of their opponents has crashed," Breo answered.

"We should probably figure this out," Yusei stated.

"I'll try to give you some of our data from their runners," Breo said. They helped Jean and Andre into the booth and Bruno started to analyze the data.

"Both runners had experienced a rapid change in functionality during their duels. Both duel runners had crashed because their rear wheels jammed," Bruno concluded.

"But what would cause the same malfunction over three times?" Yusei asked. "It doesn't add up."

Carly came running up. "I have this tape I made of Team Unicorn's duel with Team Catastrophe. Maybe it has something," she stated.

"Why didn't you not mention this earlier?" Jack asked sternly seeming a bit angry.

"It doesn't matter. As long as we have it now," Yusei intervened. As they watch the tape, with it slowed down just before the crashes, nobody could see anything unusual but the Signer of the Head had a feeling it wasn't good.

"There isn't anything wrong with the duel runners," Andre commented.

"Something else is there though. Just before every crash, the same monster was on the field," Yusei commented.

Bruno typed through a bit and located its name. "It's called Hook the Hidden Knight," he informed the group.

"Well, it's a start as least," Luna stated.

"I know you were our opponents but just be ready since you're dueling them next," Andre told them. "We don't need another crash in this tournament." Yusei nodded with Jack giving a determined face.

"We need to get out there," Crow stated.

"Right," Yusei agreed before looking around not hearing a friend. "Wait, where's Akiza?"

. . .

Akiza was on the highway working hard on practicing her skills. She passed under a bridge and was shocked as her duel runner locked up. As she was thrown from the crash, she summoned Rose Tentacles. But as its vines reached for her, she passed right through them.

' _My psychic powers aren't working!'_ she thought before she hit the pavement.

. . .

Yusei arrived at the hospital with the others as Mina had called them about Akiza, just in time to see their being rolled in. She was unconscious with a breather mask on her and was in an obvious critical state.

"Who did this?" Crow asked mad.

"I don't know," Yusei answered.

Bruno phone rang. "We have to get to the stadium. It's almost our time," he informed.

"Bruno, can you stay here and watch Akiza?" I asked. "This way you can keep us informed of her wellbeing."

"Right," he agreed. "Be careful."

"We will," Yusei agreed and everyone but Bruno ran off to duel.

. . .

As they arrived, they looked at Team 5D's they gave subtle shocked expressions.

The MC called for everyone's attention as he exclaimed, "Alright everyone! It's time for the next duel! We have Team Catastrophe versus Team 5D's!" The entire crowd cheered enough for Team Catastrophe but when Team 5D's was called out they went ecstatic.

"Let's get this done," Jack stated as he boarded his runner.

They took off as the duel started. Yusei slowly thought, _'Be careful, Jack. Watch out for anything.'_

Hermann took the first move having him draw his card. "I summon Hook the Hidden Knight (Attack 1600/ Defense 0) in attack mode. Then I set one face down and end my turn," he declared.

Jack drew his card. "I summon Mad Archfiend (Attack 1800/ Defense 0) in attack mode and have it attack that Hook the Hidden Knight!" he declared.

"I activate Hook the Hidden Knight's effect! This switches both battling monsters to defense mode," Hermann declared. "Then his second ability kicks in which inflicts 800 points of damage to you."

As Jack's life points drop to 3200, Hook the Hidden Knight appears from his shadow and tried to grab Jack's duel runner to make him crash. Jack managed to avoid it while everyone else in the booth was surprised by the appearance of the hook.

"Will he be alright, Yusei?" Leo asked as he and Luna looked at their friend.

"He'll be fine," he answered, but he knew he was also trying to reassure myself.

"I set two face downs and end my turn," Jack declared.

"My turn!" Hermann shouted drawing his card. "I switch Hook the Hidden Knight to attack mode and summon Dark the Hidden Knight (Attack 800/ Defense 0) in attack mode," he declared. "Next I'll have Dark the Hidden Knight attack you directly thanks to its effect!" The attack was made and forced Jack's life points to 2400. "Now I'll let Hook the Hidden Knight attack your Mad Archfiend!"

"I activate Ray of Hope! When I take battle damage that is 1500 point or higher, I can halve the battle damage," Jack declared. Though Mad Archfiend was destroyed, Jack only took 900 points of damage giving him 1500 life points total. The shadow hook tried to get his duel runner again but Jack swerved to avoid it.

"I set one face down," Hermann declared.

"Draw!" Jack exclaimed. "I activate Powerful Rebirth! This lets me revive a level four or below monster from my graveyard with its level increased by one and it gains 100 attack and defense points," he declared. "And I'll summon back Mad Archfiend (Mad Archfiend: Attack 1900/ Defense 100) in attack mode! Now I summon Dark Resonator (Attack 1300/ Defense 300)! Next I activate Fiendish Chain! This allows me to target a monster you control. Its effects are negated and it can't attack and I choose Hook the Hidden Knight! Now I'll have Mad Archfiend attack Dark the Hidden Knight!" The attack was made and Dark the Hidden Knight was destroyed and knocked Hermann's life points from 4000 to 2900! I activate Urgent Tuning from my hand allowing me to tune during the battle phase. So now I tune my level three Dark Resonator and my level five Mad Archfiend to summon Red Dragon Archfiend (Attack 3000/ Defense 2000)!" The dragon appeared on the field ready for battle. "I activate Half Seize halving Hook the Hidden Knight's attack (Hook the Hidden Knight: Attack 900). Red Dragon Archfiend, attack his Hook the Hidden Knight!" Jack ordered his dragon. Hook the Hidden Knight was destroyed with Hermann's life points dropping to 800. "Now I activate Sonic Buster allowing me to target one of my monsters, and dealing damage to you equaling half that monster's attack. I'll choose Red Dragon Archfiend for this effect." The final blow was made and Hermann's life points dropped to zero making Jack the winner for the first duelist.

As Jack made laps around gaining speed counters, Hermann passed the baton to Nicolas. He drew his card and only set a card face down before ending his turn.

Jack drew. "I send Dread Dragon from my hand to the graveyard to summon Power Giant (Attack 2200/ Defense 0) from my hand in attack mode but Power Giant's level is lowered by the level of Dread Dragon (Power Giant: Level 4)," he declared. "Now, Power Giant, attack him directly!"

"I activate Doom Ray which deals 800 points damage to both of us for every card in my hand!" Nicolas declared. "Which means we both take 4000 points of damage."

' _He wants to destroy Jack's runner with that shadow effect of Doom Ray. He doesn't seem to realize Power Giant's effect and that he and Team Catastrophe will be taken out too by the blast,'_ Yusei thought.

"I activate Power Giant's effect which turns the effect damage to zero until the end of the damage step," Jack retorted.

While Jack took no damage, Nicolas took it all making his life points drop to zero and destroyed Nicolas' runner due to the shadow effect of his card.

An explosion occurred due to the card. Yusei and the others grew concerned it was Jack but were completely relieved when Jack rode out of the flames carrying Nicolas. Due to Nicolas' destroyed runner, Team Catastrophe lost by default.

"That's it, everyone! Team 5D's has beaten the powerful Team Catastrophe and are moving on to the finals!" the MC exclaimed with cheers following from the entire crowd.

Jack delivered Nicolas to the other two members of Team Catastrophe before riding over to his team.

"Nice work, Jack," Yusei complimented.

Yusei, Jack, and the others looked out at the sky while it began to get heavy, dark cloud cover. "Something's coming, guys," Yusei comment as he felt a dark energy in the air. "Something you won't like."


	17. Ghosts in Force

**A/N: I DO NOT OWN ANY OF YU GI OH 5Ds! ALL RIGHTS GO TO THE CREATORS! THE ONLY THING I OWN ARE MY OCS!**

Chapter 17: Ghosts in Force

An army of Ghosts drove through the highways where duels from the World Racing Grand Prix were taking place, each in separate groups for each duel.

Some of the robots arrived where Team White Tiger was dueling against Team Lightning. They surrounded the White Tiger duelist and said, "We will join the duel."

"Duel system switching to battle royal mode," stated the computer system.

"Battle royal?" the Team Lightning repeated.

"I summon Ally Salvo! Ally Salvo, attack these two!" the Ghost ordered together and the two human duelists were sent into a tumbling crash.

. . .

Watching the carnage from above, Primo stated, "The World Racing Grand Prix has been changed into battle royal mode. The turbo duelists' fates are at stake in these duels. If they want to live, they had better complete the Grand Design."

. . .

Back at the stadium, the MC called, "Crashes are occurring all over the highways!"

"Let's go talk to Mina and Trudge about this," Keeo suggested.

The others nodded and got onto their duel runners. They hurried to where Trudge, Mina, and a few Sector Security were looking over the highway.

"Trudge! Mina!" Yusei called as they stopped. The two officers turned as they ran up to them. "What's going on?"

Suddenly, a Security operator came up and said, "Sir, the highway's turbo dueling system has been changed into battle royal mode. There's a strange signal I am trying to identify."

They followed the officer who soon found the location. Shocking everyone there, it was revealed that the signal was coming from the Ghost.

"If there are more Ghosts…" Yusei trailed off. "That isn't good." They turned to see Sherry and Elsworth come up. "Nice to see you again, Sherry, Elsworth."

"You as well, Yusei," Sherry responded. "The Ghost has appeared again."

"The army of Ghosts can only mean that Yliaster is trying to destroy the tournament," Bruno stated.

"No," Yusei responded. "They're after something bigger than that. If you recall, they hosted this tournament. They wouldn't want to destroy it."

"Is one of them going rogue, then?" Akiza asked.

"I don't know," the Signer of the Head answered. "I don't like it, though." He gave an inward sigh. "Either way, we need to fight together against the Ghost army. Hopefully, we can find the one who is controlling them before we're overwhelmed by sheer numbers," Yusei suggested.

"Yusei, what'll happen if you end up facing one of those men who took you?" Crow asked. "Do you really think you'll be able to fight?"

"I'll be fine, Crow," he responded. "Don't worry about me."

"But, Yusei…" Luna trailed off.

"Let's focus on the Ghosts for now," he suggested to get the topic off of those men for now.

"We will help you," Sherry agreed with Elsworth nodded.

"Same here!" called Kaz's voice as he drove up.

"Be careful. In battle royal mode, anyone can attack anyone, and the Ghost seem to be using that to their advantage," Trudge stated.

"And in a duel against a Ghost, the players suffer real damage. We can't afford to take the situation lightly," Yusei added.

They nodded and took off.

. . .

As Yusei and the others headed for the highway, Jakob said, "Some of the parts of the Grand Design are lighting up."

"Completing the Circuit is so boring and troublesome," Lester commented.

"We need the Ener-D's strength for that," Jakob responded. "Even though the world doesn't understand the true power of the duel runner and its energy source. When the Circuit is finally completed, the location of a God shall be revealed."

"The Circuit itself is as big as New Domino City; When it completes itself, the city will be destroyed," Lester added.

"It is a small sacrifice on our path to save the future," Jakob responded calmly.

Suddenly, Lester exclaimed something alarming to the Emperor. "The Ghost!" They turned to see images of it appear on the screen.

"They are the robots Primo created," Jakob recognized. "What're they doing out?" He turned back to the screen with the Ghost. _'What is Primo thinking?'_

. . .

Back at the highway, three Ghost robots were trying to defeat a female duelist.

 **(A/N: I will be numbering the Ghosts like "Ghost 1" and "Ghost 2" to make telling them apart easier. If you don't like it, I'm sorry, but don't be too harsh about it please.)**

Ghost 1 called, "Nullfier, attack her directly!"

"Swift Scarecrow, block that attack!" called Yusei's voice as his monster protected the duelist.

The Ghosts and duelist were surprised to see Yusei, Sherry, and Elsworth. "Hey, aren't you from Team 5D's?" the duelist asked Yusei.

"Drop out now. We'll deal with this," Yusei suggested.

"Thanks," she responded before dropping out from the duel.

Yusei quickly called forth Stardust Dragon and defeated the Ghosts along with Sherry and Elsworth.

. . .

At another location, a Ghost attacked another duelist with Clausolas when Kaz and Jack came up. Kaz directed the damage towards him with his Battle Eater while Jack proceeded to assault the Ghost with Red Dragon Archfiend, inflicting major damage.

. . .

Primo was quick to notice four more Ghost units were defeated. "Is Yusei behind this?"

Jakob appeared over a video call and asked, "Primo, what do you think you are you doing?"

"I'm not satisfied with your methods of completing the Circuit. Instead, I am forcing duels to speed up the process," Primo explained.

"The Ghost assault will not bring out the duelists' potential, which means the Circuit can't truly be completed," Jakob countered.

Lester appeared and told Primo, "Listen to Jakob. The one who stands in your way is Yusei, and you already lost to him."

Aggravated, Primo cut the conversation. "I will show Yusei that he can't win against me," he stated. "Even if we have to kill him."

. . .

Jack and Kaz were facing four Ghost units when the robots suddenly broke off and went into other riding lanes.

"Where are they going?" Kaz wondered.

. . .

At the stadium, Mina and Trudge watched the monitor.

"That's strange," Mina commented.

"Yeah," Trudge agreed. "The Ghosts are all moving towards one sole point."

. . .

Back at the highway, Yusei defeated another robot with Stardust Dragon.

"Do you think it is over yet?" Sherry asked.

That's when they heard the multitude of Ghosts coming up behind them. Yusei immediately listened hard to everything around him. He swore he heard a man say in the far distance, laughing, "I have specifically ordered the Ghost army to target the primary threats to my plan."

He looked at his teammates. "Be careful, the controller is sending the entire army after us," he told them.

"How do you know that?" Elsworth asked.

"I heard him," Yusei answered, shocking and confusing them. An Infinity symbol appeared beneath the road as one of the Ghosts commenced the duel. "The Ghost just forced the duel on us. We need to be careful."

Ghost 1 went first and called, "I summon Ally of Justice Garadholg (Attack 1600/ Defense 800) in attack mode. I set two face downs and end my turn."

Elsworth went second. "I summon Spirit Summit Warrior (Attack 1200/ 0) in attack mode. Next I activate its effect to special summon Liberated Rear Warrior (Attack 0/ Defense 1200) from my hand in attack position. Now I tune Spirit Summit Warrior with Liberated Rear Warrior in order to synchro summon. Come forth, Driven Daredevil (Attack 2400/ Defense 2100)!" he called. "Driven Daredevil, attack Ally of Justice Garadholg!" The attack succeeded in destroying the monster and dropping Ghost 1's life points to 3200.

Sherry went next. "I activate the Speed Spell- Overboost! This increased my speed counters by four. Next I activate the Speed Spell- Speed Fusion to fuse Sacred Knight's Spearholder with Horse of the Floral Knights in order to fusion summon. Ride, Centaur Mina (Attack 2200/ Defense 1600)!" she declared. "Next I normal summon Fleur Synchron (Attack 400/ Defense 200). Now I tune Centaur Mina with Fleur Synchron to synchro summon. Bloom, Chevalier de Fleur (Attack 2700/ Defense 2300)! Chevalier de Fleur, attack the Ghost directly!" The attack hit dropping its life points to 500. "I end my turn."

Yusei drew his card to take his turn. "I send Quillbolt Hedgehog from my hand to the graveyard to special summon Quickdraw Synchron (Attack 700/ Defense 1400) in attack mode. Next I activate the effect of Quillbolt Hedgehog (Attack 800/ Defense 800) to summon itself from the graveyard. Since my opponents control synchro monsters and I don't, I can special summon Reed Butterfly (Attack 300/ Defense 600) from my hand in attack mode. Now I tune Reed Butterfly, Quillbolt Hedgehog with Quickdraw Synchron in order to synchro summon Road Warrior (Attack 3000/ Defense 1500)!" he declared. "Now I activate the effect the effect of Road Warrior to special summon Speed Warrior (Attack 900/ Defense 400) from my deck in attack position. Speed Warrior, attack the second Ghost directly!" The attack hit dropping it to 3100. "Road Warrior, attack the third Ghost directly!" The attack hit dropping the other bot to 1000 life points. "I set a face down and end my turn." Ghost 2 took its turn, drawing its card to begin it. Just then, Yusei called, "I activate my face down, Synchro Prominence to inflict 1000 points of damage to my opponent for each synchro monster on the field!" Ghost 1 and 3 were quickly taken out while Ghost 2 was left with 2100 life points.

"I summon Ally of Justice Tractor (Attack 0/ Defense 0)!" Ghost 2 declared. "I tribute Ally of Justice Tractor to add two Ally of Justice Cosmic Gateways from my deck to my hand. Next I special summon three Ally of Justice Cosmic Gateways (Attack 2400/ Defense 1200 for each) in attack mode since you have at least two monsters that include a light attributed monster. Ally of Justice Cosmic Gateway, attack Driven Daredevil!" The attack destroyed both monsters in a double knock out. "The last of them, attack Elsworth directly!"

"Elsworth!" Yusei called as the attacks hit and the man was sent out of control when he lost.

"I set a card to end my turn," Ghost 2 finished. Ghost 4 drew and Ghost 2 called, "I activate DNA Transplant! Now all monsters on the field become light attributed."

"I summon Ally Salvo (Attack 400/ Defense 300) in attack mode," Ghost 4 declared. "Ally Salvo, attack Chevalier de Fleur!"

"Chevalier!" Sherry called to defend.

Ghost 4's mode was destroyed, but the fourth Ghost grinned and called as his life points fell to 1700, "I activate Ally Salvo's effect! This destroys your Chevalier de Fleur and Speed Warrior!"

The duel went on and the rest of the Ghosts continued to summon Ally Salvos. They were quick to attack Sherry directly until she fell as well, leaving Yusei to deal with the Ghosts alone.


	18. Clear Mind

**A/N: I DO NOT OWN ANY OF YU GI OH 5Ds! ALL RIGHTS GO TO THE CREATORS! THE ONLY THING I OWN ARE MY OCS!**

Chapter 18: Clear Mind

The duel had continued and it wasn't looking too good. Yusei's Road Warrior was destroyed and he only had 2400 life points left to battle the Ghost army. Things weren't looking up, but he forced myself to stay hopeful.

One of the Ghost called, "Ally Salvo, attack Yusei direction!" The Signer's life points fell to 2000.

All other Ghosts began to attack me when a voice called, "Tech Genus Blade Blaster!" Vizor came in as the duel was canceled for the moment.

' _I'll have to thank him later,'_ Yusei thought.

"I summon Buster Blaster (Attack 0/ Defense 0) in attack position and activate its effect to equip itself onto Blade Blaster, decreasing its attack and defense by 500 (Tech Genus Blade Blaster: Attack 2800/ Defense 1700). Tech Genus Blade Blaster, attack one of the Ally Salvos!" Vizor ordered. The attack destroyed the monster and the second effect of Blade Blaster destroyed all of the other Ally Salvos as they were the same type as the destroyed Ally Salvo.

Vizor and Yusei quickly sped away from our opponents. "Vizor!" the Signer called recognizing him.

He and Vizor turned as we heard someone driving up. It wasn't a Ghost, Yusei could tell that much. When the person came up, the Signer instantly felt his heart stop for a moment while trying to hide his pure fear. It was one of the three men who tortured him.

"Who are you?" Yusei asked.

"My name is Primo, and I will be your next opponent," the man answered.

Yusei glared even further while Vizor pushed Primo back. "Now, Yusei," his teammate ordered. "Do the accel synchro."

"I don't know how," he responded.

"The Ener-D of your runner is connected to your mind and heart. To accomplish Accel Synchro, you must have a clear mind," Vizor told him.

Yusei slowly nodded before moving to clear his mind. Yusei began to accelerate forward and everything was becoming clear when the Meklord Emperors and the three men entered his mind. _'No, I can't think about them. If I complete accel synchro again, I'll be able to stop them. I know it,'_ he thought as things began to clear up. Yusei was quick to allow the giant monsters to disappear from my mind and it wasn't long before he couldn't hear anything but the wind.

Primo and Vizor watched as Yusei disappeared in a flash of light. _'He did it,'_ Vizor thought.

"I don't know what game you are playing or who you are," Primo called to Vizor. "But you are going down." He drew his card. "I summon Wise Core (Attack 0/ Defense 0) in defense mode and set a face down. That ends my turn."

"Since I control a monster and you control none, I can special summon Tech Genus Striker (Attack 800/ Defense 0) from my hand in attack mode," Vizor began. "Since I special summoned a level four or below monster, I can special summon Tech Genus Warwolf (Attack 1200/ Defense 0). Now I tune Tech Genus Warwolf with Tech Genus Striker in order to synchro summon Tech Genus Power Gladiator (Attack 2300/ Defense 1000)!" His monster came to the field, eyes ready to attack. "Tech Genus Power Gladiator, attack Wise Core!"

"I activate Twin Vortex! This destroys both Wise Core and Tech Genus Power Gladiator," Primo defended. And since Tech Genus Power Gladiator was destroyed, its final effect activated, allowing Vizor to draw one card. "And now since Wise Core was destroyed, its effect activated, allowing me to summon Meklord Emperor Wisel (Attack 0/ Defense 0) in attack mode, Wisel Top (Attack 500/ Defense 0) in attack mode, Wisel Attack (Attack 1200/ Defense 0) in attack mode, Wisel Guard (Attack 0/ Defense 1200) in defense mode, and Wisel Carrier (Attack 800/ Defense 600) in attack mode. And now due to the effect of Meklord Emperor Wisel, these monsters combine together and its attack becomes equal to the attack of every other Wisel monster I control (Meklord Emperor Wisel: Attack 2500/ Defense 0)."

"I set two cards to end my turn," Vizor finished.

Primo drew his card. "Meklord Emperor Wisel, attack Tech Genus Rush Rhino!" he ordered and the attack succeeded while Vizor's life points fell to 3100. The final effect of Tech Genus Rush Rhino activated allowing Vizor to added another Tech Genus Rush Rhino to his hand from his deck. "I set two cards and end my turn."

Vizor drew his card. "I summon Tech Genus Cyber Magician (Attack 0/ Defense 0) in attack position. Now I use its effect to tune the Tech Genus Rush Rhino in my hand to Tech Genus Cyber Magician in order to synchro summon Tech Genus Wonder Magician (Attack 1900/ Defense 0)!" he declared. "Next I activate my face down known as Double Type Rescue. This revives Tech Genus Power Gladiator (Attack 2300/ Defense 1000) in attack position since I control two types of monsters. After all, with Tech Genus Wonder Magician's effect, it is treated as both a spellcaster type and a machine type monster."

"I recognize you now," Primo said. "I had encountered you on a seaside highway before. At the time, you had since you were created for the purpose of defeating the three of us. But when I was about to hit a stray cat, you slammed my duel runner out of the way and lost control of your own and crashed into the ocean. I left you for dead, but this time…"

"I tune Tech Genus Power Gladiator with Tech Genus Wonder Magician to accel-" Vizor stopped as the Ghost army surrounded him, making it so he couldn't accel synchro. "I end my turn."

Ghost 1 drew his first card. "I summon Ally Salvo (Attack 400/ Defense 300) in attack mode! Ally Salvo, attack Tech Genus Wonder Magician!" Tech Genus Wonder Magician destroyed Ally Salvo while dropping Ghost 1's life points to 2500. "Now the effect of Ally Salvo activated, destroying your Tech Genus Power Gladiator and your set card."

Yusei suddenly arrived and drove through all the Ghosts with Shooting Star Dragon at his side who had 3300 attack points and 2500 defense. "Primo," he called. "I think I'm ready to face you."

"You are? Well, then, let's-" he was cut off as two men contacted him.

"Primo, stop," Jakob ordered. "Yusei has been chosen to receive a powerful gift. You can see that yourself!"

"Yeah, you really don't want to fight him," Lester warned.

Ignoring his associates, Primo turned to Yusei and said, "I will gladly take you on, Yusei."

"Go, Yusei. I'll dispose of the minions on my own," Vizor vowed.

Primo used his sword and unlocked a new mode on his duel runner. His duel runner transformed a bit and Primo merged with it. "I will gladly take you down," he stated and the duel began.

"First I activate the first effect of Shooting Star Dragon to reveal the top five cards of my deck. For each tuner monster I pick up, Shooting Star Dragon gains that many attacks," Yusei declared and he pulled his cards. I saw them and they were all tuners. "I pulled five tuners meaning Shooting Star Dragon can attack five times. So Shooting Star Dragon, attack Meklord Emperor Wisel!"

As the first attack went, Primo called, "I activate Skiel Carrier 5's effect to negate the attack!" The second one went. "I use the effect of Wisel Guard 3 to redirect the attack to itself and due to its effect, it's not destroyed."

"Shooting Star Dragon, attack Wisel Guard 3, Wisel Attack 3, and Skiel Carrier 5!" Yusei called. All three were destroyed and so were Primo's life points.

"My Meklord Emperor can't be defeated by any human!" Primo called out as he crashed. His duel runner went into pieces as his upper torso was ripped away from the machine.


	19. When They Return

**A/N: I DO NOT OWN ANY OF YU GI OH 5Ds! ALL RIGHTS GO TO THE CREATORS! THE ONLY THING I OWN ARE MY OCS!**

Chapter 19: When They Return

Primo crashed with his duel runner in pieces with Yusei stopping while Vizor disappeared. Primo's upper torso is ripped away from the machine to reveal that he was an android.

As Yusei approached the unconscious Primo, something picked Primo, his sword, and his duel runner up. Yusei looked up on top of the Infinity Tower and saw two other men who were similarly dressed as Primo standing there with Primo coming to them and landing right next to them. Yusei involuntarily took a step back as he saw the three men. Jack and Kaz came up followed by Crow, Leo, and Luna, and quickly behind them was Trudge and Mina.

"Welcome, it is nice to finally see you again," Jakob greeted.

"Can't say the same to you," Jack retorted.

Jakob chuckled. "I supposed the feelings wouldn't be as mutual," he stated. "Even though ours were quite sarcastic."

"Why are you here? Why would you sabotage the tournament?" Yusei asked.

"This situation in the tournament wasn't our doing completely. Primo had just gone a bit rogue. But don't worry about him," Jakob answered. "We're here to reform the world into a better age. History has created a bleak picture for the future and we will change it so the future will be as more a utopian society that it should be."

"So you think by destroying this city, you'll create a better world," Jack commented. "Millions of people will get hurt. Don't you consider it wrong to do this?"

"As the saying goes, you can make an omelet without breaking a few eggs," Jakob replied. "By using the energy made in the duelists of this tournament, the Circuit and Grand Design will be complete. And when that happens, the world will change. We will be participating in the WRGP. We will be the final element to recreating the world."

Yusei asked, "Who are you to say the world needs to be changed?"

"We are the three Emperors of Yliaster. I am Jakob and you know Lester and Primo. Even if you, Yusei, didn't know all of us by name the last time we saw each other," Jakob replied and Crow stepped in front of Yusei with Jack. "As for how we know? We can see the changes the world needs by simply looking at the history of it," Jakob answered. "If you wish to stop us, you will have to face us in the World Racing Grand Prix. Now I believe it is time we take our leave. However, Yusei, we expect you to be ready to face death. Because there's a reason your chest's pain only worsens." They then disappeared together.

"Yusei, what did they mean your chest has been in pain that's only been getting worse?" Crow asked looking at him.

"I don't know what it's about. It's just a bit sore when I move it, that's all," he answered. "I just thought it was because the depth of the slash was making it take a little longer to heal."

"But if it was getting worse, wouldn't that be an indicator that it wasn't that simple?" Akiza asked.

"It's fine, guys," Yusei reassured, trying to calm the situation down. "It's probably nothing. They're probably just trying to worry and frighten us for when we face them."

They slowly nodded, not wanting to push at the moment, and Mina stated, "They're going to hold off the tournament for about three weeks to allow everything to get fixed and injured duelists can recuperate. Though it may be longer if road fixes take a bit longer or duelists are injured worse than we know at the moment."

"Sounds good," Yusei agreed. They all nodded before taking off to go do their own things.


	20. Time Skips- Part 1

**A/N: I DO NOT OWN ANY OF YU GI OH 5Ds! ALL RIGHTS GO TO THE CREATORS! THE ONLY THING I OWN ARE MY OCS!**

 **Hey, guys! Fair warning: This chapter's beginning will be a bit M-rated in terms of blood and violence. If you are uncomfortable on such matters, you can skip it, but it has a part that may or may not be important to the rest story. As such, I would suggest reading it, but I understand if you have your preferences against such matters.**

 **This should be one of the only times M-rated scenes will be a part of this story. Not saying this is the end of parts like this as that's undecided, but it's definitely one of the only few that there may be.**

 **Just thought I would warn you about that! Onto the chapter!**

Chapter 20: Time Skips- Part 1

 _Yusei cried out slowly as a dagger's blade was dragged down his right arm, which was being chained above his head along with his other arm as he hung from a pole. The painful blade stopped just as it reached the top of his mark. Blood dripped down his body as he panted to try to get some breath._

 _He was losing blood, too much blood. He looked at the man in front of him. Him and his friends wouldn't allow him to die yet. As far as he could tell, their copy hadn't completed the mission._

" _Now, Yusei, give us the information we want and you'll be going back to your room to rest," the man told him._

" _I… won't… say anything," Yusei refused. Every bit of his body wanted it to stop, even his mind. But he couldn't reveal anything of his friends or himself that they didn't know that would hurt them._

" _Very well then," the man responded._

 _He took a small, scalpel like knife and reached towards his face. Yusei tried to pull back, but he was stuck and was forced to merely cry out again as the blade travelled the design of his marker. More blood spilled out as the knife cut. Yusei forced himself to stay awake._

" _You know this wouldn't be as bad if you hadn't contacted your friends," the man stated as he pulled back the scalpel._

" _I… didn't," Yusei lied as it hurt to move his face now._

" _We saw your mark glowing, Yusei," the man retorted. "We know you were calling them."_

" _The… mark glows most of the time when my friends are close or one of us is in need, and it isn't usually by our choice," he responded. "I wasn't trying to contact any of them!"_

 _The man glared and grabbed the dagger again. "You can't lie to me, Yusei," the man responded and dug the blade in at his shoulder making the Signer cry out again. He dragged it across his chest in a diagonal formation until the man reached Yusei's hip._

 _Yusei was struggling to stay conscious at this point. Before he passed out, he swore he heard someone say something to the man and then felt something small and round being pushed into the center of his chest through the gash. And the final pain from that made him pass out._

. . . .

Yusei bolted to a sit-up position, a bit of cold sweat dripping down his face. _'Again?'_ he thought. _'I need to head to the overlook for a bit.'_ He then got up and dressed.

He went to his door when an unbearable spike of pain shot through his chest again making him cry out, though he kept it quiet. After a few minutes which felt more like an eternity, the pain died down a bit, but his chest throbbed. _'What is going on with my chest? What… did they do to it?'_ he thought. With the pain gone for the most part, he slowly and silently made his way out of the garage without waking anyone up.

When he arrived at the overlook, he stared out at the horizon in front of him. _'Why do I keep having nightmares of that day? Of that final torture session… Is it just the scars never wishing to leave me?'_

"Yusei?" called Crow's voice, taking him out of his thoughts. Yusei looked at his friend over his shoulder for a second, taking notice of Jack with him, before turning back to the scenery in front of him. "You still having that bad dream?"

Yusei sighed. He had told Crow and Jack he was having nightmares of Zero Reverse. He had had a nightmare of Zero Reverse a couple times, but the main one that was repeating was that one final day in that place.

"If only it was just a dream," he replied to Crow's question.

"But it was so long ago, and New Domino's rebuilt itself since your father's research was… compromised," Crow tried to reassure Yusei.

"You need to stop trying to change things that can't be changed. The past is past, Yusei. You need to let it go and embrace the future," Jack added.

"I agree. And you know, if I agree with Jack, I must really mean it," Crow agreed.

"I wish it was that easy," Yusei responded sadly.

"I know what'll make you feel better," Jack said. He tossed Yusei his helmet.

"Come on, Yusei. Let's ride," Crow said.

"Alright," Yusei said with a grin.

They got on their duel runners and drove off. However, as they drove, they heard it. The scraping of metal on concrete. Yusei looked behind them followed by the others.

"I've never seen that duel runner before," Jack commented as the duel runner came into view behind them.

"Or the duelist that's driving it," Crow added.

"Guys, that's the man from my dream last night," he stated. They looked at him shocked.

The unknown rider flashed his lights signaling a challenge. "I don't believe it. He's challenging us to a duel," Jack said.

"If it's a duel he wants, it's a duel he'll get," Yusei said. _'But I have a feeling I can't use Stardust Dragon,'_ he added in thought.

" _Duel Mode engaged,"_ said the voice as the duel began.

 **(A/N: Since the movie [or show bit or whatever you want to call it] doesn't show most of the duel, I'll skip to the end like it.)**

An explosion knocked dust around as Yusei made an attack. He had Junk Synchron (Attack 1300/ Defense 500) in defense mode and Nitro Warrior (Attack 2800/ Defense 1800) in attack mode. He had two face downs as well. His life points stood at 1800.

The masked man had no monsters and two face downs himself. His life points stood at 2400.

"Why don't you bring out that Stardust Dragon? I know you want to," the masked man taunted.

"Because I'm not going to let you take it," Yusei retorted seeming to surprise this mysterious duelist. "Now I think I'll finish this by attacking you with Nitro Warrior!" The man laughed.

"Why is he laughing?" Crow asked worried.

"I think we're about to find out," Yusei replied.

"I activate the trap Negate for Reward! This card negates your attack and allows me to pick a monster from your extra deck and summon it to the field," the man explained.

"What?!" Yusei exclaimed. The man laughed. "I activate-" the Signer stopped as his card didn't activate.

"Nope, in addition to its effect, it also negates the activation of all trap and spell cards," the masked man informed. "And I think I'll summon your Stardust Dragon!"

The man laughed as Stardust Dragon was forced to the field. It looked at Yusei with worried and begging eyes, like it knew what would happen. The man brought out a blank card.

"What's the blank card for?" Yusei asked.

It shot out a stream of four sided, card shaped light. The energy beam engulfed Stardust Dragon in a sphere made of thousands of cards.

"Stardust!" Yusei called in fear.

The sphere glowed, swallowing his dragon before the sphere drained back into the blank card. Once it was completely in the card, it became a darker colored version of Stardust Dragon.

"What did…? Stardust Dragon it's…" Jack stuttered shocked.

"It's gone! It's stolen!" Crow exclaimed.

"But how?" Yusei asked.

"A great many things are possible," the man called to Yusei as he drove up beside us. "And now that I have the mighty Stardust Dragon, the demise of this era and time is one of those things."

"Who are you?" Yusei demanded angrily. The man laughed. He drove off faster than possible before disappearing in a flash of light. Yusei pulled to a stop. The others followed. "Stardust…" he trailed off sadly looking at his now empty card. _'I'm sorry, Stardust.'_

"Okay, let's head back to the garage. We need to talk about what just happened," Jack said.

. . .

Crow, Yusei, and Jack stood in the garage. "Will someone tell me what just happened?" Jack asked.

"I would but I don't know myself," Crow responded.

"I still can't believe he took Stardust," Yusei commented.

"Why did that maniac take him? That's what I'd like to know," Jack responded.

"Hey, guys," came Akiza's voice. They looked up and saw her, Leo, and Luna entering.

"No offense, but this really isn't the best time for a social call," Jack said.

"Who ever said this was social, Jack? We happen to be here on business," Leo retorted.

"Business? What's up?" Yusei asked as they all gave them their full attention.

"Leo and I were researching duel monsters history when we found this," Luna said handing Yusei a handle. He pressed a button and it showed an article of Yugi, his grandfather, and Maximillion Pegasus.

"Hey, I recognize that guy," Crow said.

"I should hope so. That's Maximillion Pegasus the chairman of Industrial Illusions," Jack responded, "He's the creator of duel monsters."

"And look who's next to him," Crow said.

"Yugi Muto, the King of Games himself. They say he's the best duelist to have ever picked up a deck," Yusei said.

"Doesn't look so tough to me. But how could you with that dated haircut? But I admit, he's a dueling legend. What I would give to see Yugi duel way back in his day," Jack said.

"This is what you wanted to show us?" Yusei said.

"No, scroll over to the next page," Akiza told him.

Yusei did so and everyone gasped. "Wait, Stardust Dragon?!" Yusei exclaimed.

"But that card didn't exist back then," Jack said.

"Exactly our point," Leo said.

Crow turned back to the article. "The article says that these dragons appeared one day and blasted all of Europe," Crow read.

"But I don't remember hearing about this. And this is a major historical event," I said.

"That's just it. This is new history. Somehow the past has changed," Akiza said.

"Wait," Yusei said. He tapped the screen. The masked duelist stood in the background tall and confident. "It's that duelist from before. The one who took Stardust Dragon."

A crumbling sound was heard from outside. They looked out the window. Black ash slowly fell from the sky like snow.

"What's going on outside?" Akiza asked.

"I don't like the looks of this, guys," Jack commented bluntly as we saw the building slowly crumble and vanish.

"Guys, what's happening?" Luna asked scared.

"The city's… vanishing," Leo answered.

"But why?" Akiza asked.

"Maybe I've seen one too many movies; but whenever something changes in the past, doesn't it also somehow change the future?" Jack guessed.

"Yeah, so?" Crow replied.

"If the past has changed that would mean that…" Yusei stopped for a moment in realization. "What the masked man said is true! Our era, our period in time… it's meeting its end."

Everyone's mark then lit up bright. The Signers' marks transferred to Yusei, imprinting the Mark of the Crimson Dragon on his back.

"It's the Mark of the Crimson Dragon," Akiza said looking at the mark.

Leo noticed Yusei's duel runner glowing a bit. "And Yusei's powers are surging through his duel runner too," he commented.

Yusei felt a presence calling him and saw the Crimson Dragon next to his runner. The others were quick to notice as well. He looked and it gave a call to him. He didn't hesitate a moment longer and ran towards his duel runner.

"What're you doing?" Akiza asked.

"I'm not sure but I need to go somewhere, most likely to stop this," Yusei answered before he took off. As he drove, the Crimson Dragon appeared before his Signer. "I don't know where you're taking me; but if it's somewhere that'll give us a chance to stop this, lead the way," Yusei told the fiery dragon. It roared and Yusei entered a tunnel of light before disappearing.


	21. Time Skips- Part 2

**A/N: I DO NOT OWN ANY OF YU GI OH 5Ds! ALL RIGHTS GO TO THE CREATORS! THE ONLY THING I OWN ARE MY OCS!**

Chapter 21: Time Skips- Part 2

"That's some dragon. Know where I could score one?" a boy with brown and and in a red coat asked staring at the masked man and Stardust Dragon.

"Jaden Yuki, calm, cool, and collected to the very end. Now perish!" the masked man said. Stardust Dragon fought to try to stop itself. "Destroy him!" the man ordered.

The dragon roared as its mind was overrun by the man's power. It fired at the boy, Jaden, and Neos. It hit Neos nearly destroying the duel monster.

"Neos!" Jaden called. The leftover attack hit him and he was sent into a pile of crumbled debris.

"Now finish him!" the man commanded.

Stardust Dragon reluctantly did so. Just as it was about to hit, the Crimson Dragon stopped the attack. From the flames of the dragon came Yusei.

Yusei looked up. "Stardust!" he exclaimed.

"Yusei! How you followed me back in time, I do not know. What I do know is that it means nothing for you and Jaden. If you don't perish by my hand, the hands of time will do you in," the man said.

"Hands of what?" Jaden asked. The man laughed turning around.

"Wait, stop!" Yusei called.

The masked man drove off and disappeared in a flash of light. Jaden and Yusei stared at the spot where he disappeared for a moment. Eventually though, Yusei got off his runner and helped Jaden to his feet. Yusei got up to the roof from the pile of debris followed by the boy in the red jacket. Jaden sat down to the right of Yusei.

"You took quite the hit there. Are you okay?" Yusei asked.

"I'm all good. Just a few scratches," Jaden replied.

"You're a tough kid. So you're Jaden. That's what he called you, right?" Yusei asked.

"Yeah," Jaden asked. "That man called you Yusei, right?" The Signer nodded. The boy turned to the duel runner. "That's quite the ride you got there. Looks like something from the future."

"It is," Yusei responded.

"It is? What do you mean 'it is'?" Jaden questioned, uncertain.

" _He means as he says, Jaden. Yusei is from another time,"_ a spirit, Baron, answered. Yusei was a bit shocked to find he could see and hear this spirit

"Another time? Quit messing with me. Besides, how would you guys know?" Jaden asked.

" _We know because like you, Yusei has a gift,"_ Yubel, another spirit, answered as she appeared.

" _A gift that connects them to the world of duel monster spirits,"_ Baron continued.

"I think they mean this mark," Yusei explained to the slightly confused Jaden.

Jaden looked at the Signer and saw the mark on his arm. "Well looks like we have something new in common, don't we, Yusei?" Jaden asked.

"Yes, Jaden. Now tell me how this got started with you and the masked man," Yusei said.

"Some classmates of mine kept reporting their duel monsters cards were getting snatched. I went looking for the thief and found you know who," Jaden explained.

"Listen, Jaden, I know we just met but believe me when I say we need to stop this man. Because if we don't life as you know it…" Yusei paused as if looking for the right word before continuing, "won't be as you know it. My time, your time; it will change. And it's not a change for the better."

"Wait, are you saying you want me to team up with you two to take this dude down?" Jaden asked excitedly pulling a fist in front of his face.

"Yes, Jaden," Yusei answered.

"Okay, but how are we going to take him down? I mean, the dude split," Jaden asked.

"He moved back in time. Probably to the time where he makes his big move and changes history and alters the future forever," Yusei replied.

"Whoa, whoa. What do you mean 'changes history and alters the future'?" Jaden asked. He pulled out a laptop from his bag. "History hasn't changed. Here, I'll show ya. Let me check out the Domino City database and pull up a newspaper article that'll prove to you that history has…" he paused for a moment before continuing, "Completely changed!" They froze for a moment as they saw the article.

The title line: " _ **TRAGEDY AT THE TOURNAMENT! PEGASUS MISSING!**_ " and underneath that was: " _ **Is Duel Monsters Over?**_ "

"And not for the better," Jaden added, "Why is this guy doing all of this?"

"I don't know, but he's doing it as we speak," Yusei replied.

"Well, as long as I have…" Jaden started but when he pulled out his card, the picture vanished. "Neos is gone!"

They looked around hearing crumbling noises. A tower fell in front of them, luckily not hitting the duel runner. "And it's happening here too. Your era and time is crumbling away. First your duel monsters cards, now everything else," Yusei commented calmly but alert.

"What do we do now, guys?" Jaden asked.

"Now we move," Yusei said.

"Where?" Jaden asked.

Yusei and Jaden got on the Signer's runner. They drove off with the Crimson Dragon taking them further into the past.

. . .

Yugi and his grandfather, Solomon Muto, stood at the Domino City Duel Tournament. Looking around at all the excited duelists.

"This certainly is a good turn out," Solomon said.

"And it's no wonder why. The rumor is Pegasus himself will be here today," Yugi said.

The sound of a helicopter could be heard and everyone looked up. The helicopter landed and Pegasus stepped out.

"Greetings, everyone. It's wonderful to see you all but probably not nearly as wonderful for you to see me. So please, enjoy my splendor," Pegasus said. People cheered loud.

On top of a building, the masked man stood. He growled, "And enjoy your last moments, _Pegasus_." His final name was dripping with such a venomous hate that it could kill the chairman if it were possible.

The three dragons flew over top the buildings as the clock hit noon. "Dragons!" people called out in amazement.

"Boy, my laser eye surgery sure makes those duel monsters holograms look real," Solomon said.

As the dragons hit the buildings and they crumbled away, Yugi said, "I don't think those are holograms, Grandpa."

"Move it," a man said as he push Yugi and Solomon in separate directions.

"Yugi!" Solomon called.

"Grandpa!" Yugi responded as he tried to push his way back from the running crowd.

"It's my worst fear. I've been upstaged," Pegasus said. He heard the crash of the building behind him. "Oh no, the building," he cried as it landed on top of him.

As the minutes to hours passed by, Yugi woke up among the ruins. He looked around to find he was the only survivor. He noticed his grandfather's bandana and ran to it to pick it up before he screamed his grandfather's in sadness.

He heard a laugh from above and looked at the top of a building. "At last my work in complete! It took some doing but history is now forever changed. Changed so that duel monsters is no more!" the man exclaimed.

Yugi looked at him confused. Suddenly, though, a light caught his eye. He looked at it and just as he did, a red, fiery dragon slipped out of the light and enveloped the frightened Yugi.

The Crimson Dragon flew above a roof top. Yugi was thrown out and Yusei and Jaden skidded to a stop on their runners. Yugi rubbed the back of his neck that had hit the corner of a concrete molding.

"Hey, are you okay?" Jaden asked running up to him followed by Yusei. The young boy kneeled next to the legendary duelist.

Yugi back away but Yusei said, "It's okay, Yugi. You're safe now."

"Where am I? Is my grandpa okay? Where's Pegasus?" Yugi asked. He looked and noticed everyone standing below them as if nothing had happened. "Wait, was that all just a dream?"

"I'm afraid not," Yusei replied following Jaden's lead in kneeling next to him.

"Here's the deal, bro, it's not where you are but when," Jaden said.

"We've taken you back in time. Back to just before those dragons blasted this place," Yusei informed and looking at Yugi once again.

Jaden looked at his card. "Look, Neos is back!" he exclaimed happily.

"Who are you guys?" Yugi asked in confusion and shock.

"My name's Yusei Fudo," he introduced.

"And I'm Jaden Yuki," Jaden finished with a happy, confident tone.

"Yusei and Jaden. I'm Yugi Muto," he introduced.

"Oh, there's no need to tell us who you are; we know," Yusei said.

"You do? How's that?" Yugi asked.

"Cause we're from the future. It's no big whoop," Jaden replied calmly.

"What?" Yugi responded.

"Okay, I guess it's kind of a big whoop. Bottom line though, we're here to save the world," Jaden said.

"That masked man you saw… he has to be stopped. Like you, we've seen what happens if he's not," Yusei told the King of Games.

"This guy looks like he's made it his mission in life to take down Pegasus," Jaden said.

"But why?" Yugi asked.

"We don't know that just yet but we do know that if he takes down Pegasus, the duel monsters world he created…" Yusei trailed off.

"It goes with him. Along with everything that sprang from it. Like schools, cities, people, you name it," Jaden finished.

Yugi looked down and muttered, "Oh man."

"But it doesn't have to be that way," Jaden told him. "That's why we're here."

"If we work together, we might be able to stop this maniac," Yusei said. "Will you help us?"

Yugi's head sprung up and looked at each of them with a determined face while he stood up followed by the other two. "That guy hurt my grandpa and it also sounds like he's trying to hurt the game I love. So I'm more than willing to help you in any way that I can," Yugi agreed. "Let's make this guy sorry that he ever messed with us."

"Glad to have you on our side," Yusei commented.

"Try ecstatic! We've got the King of Games in our corner! Now let's do this," Jaden exclaimed happily and confidently.


	22. All of Time

**A/N: I DO NOT OWN ANY OF YU GI OH 5Ds! ALL RIGHTS GO TO THE CREATORS! THE ONLY THING I OWN ARE MY OCS!**

Chapter 22: All of Time

The three duelists hurried down the staircase and Jaden had Yubel fire a shot at the stage. Every person in or near the area ran away in fear.

"That's right. Just keep running and don't look back!" Jaden yelled with a laugh.

"I hope this scares away Pegasus so he won't be crush by that building," Yugi said.

"Then he and the future of duel monsters are safe," Yusei added.

"I think not!" yelled an all too familiar voice.

Yusei looked back with the others and saw a portal open long enough for the masked duelist to popped out and land in front of them.

"You listen here! We know what you're up to and we're not going to let it happen, got it? So why don't you make it easier on yourself and go back to wherever it is you came from?" Yugi suggested defiantly.

"Where I come from is why I'm here," the man said. "Perhaps it's time we got acquainted." He removed his mask. "The name is Paradox."

"Paradox?" Yusei repeated.

"I doubt you've heard of me. In fact, I'm very much certain that you haven't," Paradox said. "After all, I don't come from any of your eras of time. I come from the future."

"What does that mean?" Yusei asked.

"Forget him. He's just trying to get in your head," Jaden said.

"We don't care about your backstory, we just care about keeping our world safe," Yugi told him.

"Is that so?" he asked and chuckled slightly. "No one thought to keep me safe. Or those I loved. And now I will finally have my revenge. I will rid the world of what caused all my pain and suffering. That is why I am here. Because I've realized something about this game you love so. This Duel Monsters. The world would be a far better place without it. The monsters, the spells, what good has come from it? True, you've all saved the world many times of it with your precious cards. But against adversaries using the same cards to destroy it."

"So that's why you're here? To rid the world of duel monsters?" Yusei asked.

"That is correct, once and for all," Paradox answered.

"Not on our watch," Yusei retorted.

"You senseless dolts! Don't you see? Instead of going against me, you three should be trying your best to help me! I told you, the world I come from is the reason why I am here. Where I come from is a doomed future," he responded.

Yusei gave a small gasp. "No, our future is a bright one," he said disbelievingly and slightly distraught.

"It is not. It is a desolate place. So desolate I could no longer bear to see it through my own eyes. I took to wearing a mask. And it was through this filter that I began to see why things had ended this way. And the answer was Duel Monsters. So what better way to destroy this virus than by travelling back to the beginning and not letting it spread?" Paradox said. "Time travel is no easy feat. But where there is a will, there is a way. And there _was_ a will."

Yusei's fist squeezed tight in frustration. "But don't you realize? You're not just wiping out duel monsters, but people too! You're destroying everything and everyone ever touched by the game," he growled.

"Of course I realize that, Yusei. As a matter of fact, that's what I'm looking forward to the most," Paradox responded.

"You are one sick puppy," Jaden retorted.

"Maybe the game's not perfect but it has created more good things than bad," Yugi continued.

"And another thing, the future isn't written yet. There is still time for things to change," Yusei added.

"Well then, it seems we to have a difference of opinion. And since I doubt any more words will settle our impasse, perhaps we can seek to settle it another way," Paradox responded.

"If you're saying you want a duel, bring it on Paradox," Yusei agreed.

"Fine then. I find it fitting to destroy you with the very cards you're trying to save," Paradox said. He pressed a button on his duel runner and it morphed into a somewhat plane like vehicle and hovered high in the air.

"Paradox, get ready to get your game on!" Jaden exclaimed with his eyes changing into two separate colors like Yubel's.

"You're twisted time crusade stops here. Let's rev it up," Yusei said. He brought his hand high into the air. His Mark of the Dragon Head lit up and the Crimson Dragon appeared behind him, roaring slightly in pride.

" _Yugi, out of all of our duels this may be the toughest,"_ said Yugi's other spirit and friend known as Yami.

"Then let's rise to the challenge," Yugi responded.

He then used the Millennium Puzzle to change his mind and spirit with Yami and allowed Yami to control the duel. "I just have one thing to say to you, Paradox: It's time to duel!" Yami yelled.

They activated their duel disks. Yugi, Jaden, and Yusei shared a total of 4000 life points and Paradox had his own 4000.

"I'll go first," Paradox declared. "And I think I start by activating the field spell, Malefic World." Their entire surroundings turned into a violet colored space.

"What just happened?" Yusei asked as he and his teammates looked around in shock and awe.

"Malefic World," Paradox answered. "And I think I'll use the effect of Malefic World. By skipping the draw phase of my turn, I can add a random malefic monster from my deck directly to my hand. Next, I'll send Cyber End Dragon from my extra deck to the graveyard so that Malefic Cyber End Dragon (Attack 4000/ Defense 2800) now appears!" A dragon similar looking to the original Cyber End Dragon took to the field but on its face, back, and wings was black and white plating.

"Does anyone know what this Malefic thing is all about?" Yusei asked.

"It's not some 'thing', it's the type of deck I use. A type from the future. One of the many advantages of time travel," Paradox replied.

"Jaden, did you see how he brought out a Malefic version of that dragon?" the Signer asked his new friend.

"Uh-huh, just by sending the real version of Cyber End to the graveyard. That's all it took," Jaden said.

"So in other words, by getting rid of its good version, he can give life to its bad. It seems Paradox only sees the dark side of duel monsters," Yugi said.

"Yes, and I'll use them to destroy you all. But let's not get ahead of ourselves. I end my turn with one face down," Paradox intervened.

"Listen, Jaden, Yugi, we know what's at stake here. Our friends, the future, the very balance, it all hinges on this duel. It's true, we may have all just met and may not know each other's duel styles and strategies. But right now, we need to fight as one. All our skills, all our past experiences, let's use them. Let's put them together for this one common cause," Yusei gave his little, mini speech.

Yugi and Jaden nodded at each other. "Agreed, Yusei. And I think you should be the one to start us off," the spirit bonded man said.

"Right," he agreed. "Here we go!" He pulled a card. "First, from my hand I play the spell card Reincarnation of Hope. By sending two monsters to the graveyard down now, we can draw a monster card later."

"Don't you realize there won't be a later for you or your friends?" Paradox growled.

"Well for now, I'm summoning Junk Synchron," Yusei declared. "And because I was able to summon him, I can summon a level two or below monster straight from the graveyard. Sonic Chick, fan your feathers in defense mode. And now I play my Quillbolt Hedgehog's ability from my graveyard. An ability that since there is a tuner monster already on the field, I can summon my hedgehog straight to the field. But he won't be staying around for long. Nor are any of my other monsters, at least not in their present form. Because I'm tuning them all together. Just as Yugi, Jaden, and I are combining our might, these three have now combined theirs. I summon forth the synchro monster, Junk Gardna (Attack 1400/ Defense 2600)!" Out of the pillar of light typically created from a synchro summon, Junk Gardna slammed to the ground in defense position.

"Synchro what?" Yugi asked shocked.

"I don't know but I like it. Too cool!" Jaden exclaimed giving Yusei a thumbs up.

"I place two cards face down and end my turn," the Signer finished.

"How truly pathetic. If that's the best you can do, you all might as well give up here and now. Your decks are no match for mine. Not as long as I have Yusei's Stardust Dragon," Paradox told us. The Signer glared at him in warning. "It's my move. Now I'll show your beast a true might. Next I'll send Rainbow Dragon from the extra deck to graveyard. Which as you saw before means, I can summon Malefic Rainbow Dragon (Attack 4000/ Defense 0)!" Paradox declared and the dragon came to the field in a similar situation in difference as Cyber End Dragon.

"Hey! Leave my pal's card out of this!" Jaden demanded angrily.

"Why do you think I was time hopping in the first place? I was collecting the cards needed to take down Pegasus. Until that time comes, I'll use them… to destroy the three of you! Malefic Rainbow Dragon, attack! Spectral Surge!" Paradox ordered.

"I activate Junk Gardna's ability. With it, your dragon is about to be switched into defense mode," Yusei defended.

"You stopped one of my dragons, yes. But as you recall, I have two out! Malefic Cyber End Dragon, attack!" Paradox retorted.

The blast destroyed Junk Gardna and Yusei was thrown back by the damage made real with his and his teammates' life points dropping to 2600.

"Are you alright?" Yugi asked.

"Say something, pal," Jaden called.

Yusei sat up. "I'm alright," he assured them.

"Well you won't be when your life points run out because in a malefic duel, you don't just lose the match, you lose your soul," Paradox informed. Yugi, Jaden, and Yusei glared at Paradox.

Yusei stood up and countered saying, "I activate Junk Gardna's second ability. When it's destroyed, it switches one of your monsters into defense mode. And then I activate Miracle's Wake! This revives the monster that was just destroyed," he declared and Junk Gardna returned in his respective defense position. "Sorry, I lost us some points there."

"Don't apologize, Yusei," Yugi said.

"Yeah, you just fended off two super tough monsters. Way to go!" Jaden praised.

"Thanks guys, I did my best," he responded.

"Against a deck stacked with the best cards throughout all of time, that's all we can do. And that's what we have to keep doing to win this duel," Yugi responded.

"In my time travels, I've listened in on some of your pep talks. But that, by far, was your most pathetic. I place a card face down and end my turn," Paradox chimed in.

"Then it's my turn to take a crack at ya," Jaden said drawing his card. "Yusei, mind if I piggyback off your play?" he asked. Yusei nodded, silently saying to go ahead. "Alright then, I activate Polymerization! And I'll fuse Junk Gardna with my Elemental HERO Neos that is in my hand. This is a first: two different monster from different times becoming one. Here comes the best from both worlds. Come to battle, Elemental HERO Neos Knight (Attack 2500/ Defense 1000)! And due to his ability, he gains a power boost equal to half of Junk Gardna's attack points (Elemental HERO Neos Knight: Attack 3200). Now Neos Knight will attack that Malefic Rainbow Dragon!" Neos Knight attacked and successfully destroyed Paradox's malefic version of Rainbow Dragon. "Oh, and Neos Knight's ability allows him two attacks in this one battle!" Jaden declared.

"Two attacks?!" Paradox exclaimed as Neos Knight destroyed Malefic Cyber End Dragon in an explosion.

"You're not so tough," Jaden stated.

" _Well done, Jaden. I've heard of knights slaying dragons before but not two at once,"_ Yubel told him. Jaden gave a small laugh.

"Let's see if you're laughing when I activate Malefic Tune! This allows me to draw two cards from my deck," Paradox retorted.

"Jaden, you have to tell me, where did you learn to duel with such heart and passion?" Yugi asked.

"A little place called Duel Academy. And believe it or not, I usually skip class," Jaden replied.

"Well, if I were your teacher, I would certainly give you an A on that last move," Yugi responded.

' _I sure hope New Domino City gives me passing marks after this,'_ Yusei thought.

"Well, I set four cards face down and end my turn," Jaden finished.

"Then it's my turn. And I think I'll use the effect Malefic World to add a random malefic monster from my deck to my hand. Excellent! Now I have all I need right at my fingertips! Next by sending Stardust Dragon from my extra deck to the graveyard, I can summon Malefic Stardust Dragon (Attack 2500/ Defense 2000)!" Paradox declared.

Stardust Dragon took to the field but his appearance was changed by the malefic force in Paradox's possession. Stardust's face and eyes were covered by a black and white, metal mask. His wings were covered in similar armor and his chest held plating of similar colors.

"My Stardust! Paradox, you snake, what have you done to it?" Yusei asked angrily.

"I simply introduced it to the power of the shadows and there's more to come," he replied. "I summon Malefic Parallel Gear (Attack 0/ Defense 0). Next I'll tune Malefic Parallel Gear and _my_ Malefic Stardust Dragon."

"What?!" Yusei exclaimed.

"You're not the only one who can synchro summon here, Yusei," Paradox replied. "I synchro summon, Paradox Dragon (Attack 4000/ Defense 4000)!"

"Not good," Jaden muttered.

"That's right, Jaden. And since Paradox Dragon was summoned, I can summon Stardust Dragon (Attack 2500/ Defense 2000) to the field in attack mode," Paradox said.

"Two dragons again?" Yusei muttered.

"Yes, Yusei. Because due to Paradox Dragon's effect, every monster you control will lose attack equal to every synchro monster I control. So, Neos Knight, power down (Elemental HERO Neos Knight: Attack 400)!" Paradox stated. "Paradox Dragon, attack Neos Knight!"

"I play, Hero Barrier. This negates your attack as long as there is an Elemental HERO on my field," Jaden declared.

"I activate Malefic Claw Stream. Since I have a malefic synchro monster out, I can destroy one of your monsters," Paradox said and destroyed Neos Knight.

"I'll see your trap and raise it with one of my own. Elemental Mirage! This returns Neos Knight (Attack 2500/ Defense 1000) back from the graveyard," Jaden declared.

"A perfect counter," Yugi praised.

"Aw, I just figured it would be rude of me to leave you without a monster on the field," Jaden responded.

"Thanks and you can count on me to put Neos Knight to good use," Yugi told Jaden.

"I'm sorry, Yugi, but your best won't even be good enough here. After all, Neos Knight is still subject to Paradox Dragon's effect (Elemental HERO Neos Knight: Attack 0)," Paradox reminded them. "I end my turn with two face downs."

"It's my move. So get ready!" Yugi exclaimed glaring at Paradox.

"Let's see what you've got, King of Games," Paradox taunted.

"Yugi, my cards are your cards," Yusei told the King of Games.

"Well, in that case, I'll use Reincarnation of Hope's effect to add a monster card to my hand. And the monster I choose is Dark Magician," Yugi declared.

"Like I didn't see that coming," Paradox said.

"Next, I activate Ancient Rules which allows me to summon Dark Magician," Yugi fought. Jaden and I looked at Dark Magician as he stared at his opponent defiantly.

"According to the history books, that card is Yugi's ace," Yusei commented.

"I know, cool!" Jaden agreed.

"As 'cool' as he may be, he's still subject to Paradox Dragon's power down effect (Dark Magician: Attack 0)," Paradox said.

Yusei sighed. "Yugi, if Stardust Dragon needs to be destroyed for us to win this, then destroy it," he said. The King of Games looked at him shocked by his words. "It's better that than letting it be under Paradox's control any longer."

"Yusei…" Yugi muttered. They stared into each other's eyes for a moment.

"Oh, how touching. Now go already!" Paradox yelled impatiently.

Yugi and Yusei turned back to the field. Yugi then played, "I activate Bond Between Teacher and Student. When I have a Dark Magician on the field, I can summon his student, Dark Magician Girl!" The magician in blue and pink clothing and staff came to the field. "Next I activate Magic Gate of Miracles. Now since I have two spell casters out on my field, I can take control of one of your monsters."

A giant square portal formed on both sides of the field and two giant hands reach out. In response, Paradox declared, "I activate Malefic Force. Now Paradox Dragon is no longer up for grabs."

"That's true, but Stardust Dragon still is," Yugi reminded. The hands reached out and pulled Stardust over to Yusei and the dragon didn't bother to resist the pull. "Yusei, Stardust Dragon is now back where it belongs."

"Thanks, Yugi!" Yusei told him kindly and relieved as it appeared on his card and the image on Paradox's card shattered.

Jaden gave a small chuckle. "You never wanted Paradox Dragon in the first place, right?" he asked.

Yugi nodded. "And speaking of Paradox Dragon, his ability is no longer in effect which means our monsters attack points return to normal," he informed. Dark Magician and Neos Knight return to their normal 2500 attack points each.

"So what if your monsters' attack points are back to normal? My dragon still has them beat with a total of 4000. Face it, you're simply outmatched," Paradox retorted.

"I wouldn't say that," Yugi countered resulting in Paradox giving a shock and confused look. "I activate Dark Magic Twin Burst! Now I can add Dark Magician Girl's attack points to Dark Magician's (Dark Magician: Attack 4500). Now your dragon is the one who's been outmatched, Paradox, and he also happens to be outnumbered two to one. Now go, Dark Magician and Dark Magician Girl!"

The two spell casters shot a beam of purple like that pierced Paradox Dragon's head and went through it and through the dragon's abdomen destroying it and forced Paradox to lose 500 life points making him at 3500.

"These desperate moves change nothing," Paradox said with a grin.

"I disagree. You had two monsters and now you have none," Yugi said.

"And I thank you for that. All you've done is clear the way for something else. Something grand, something almighty!" Paradox exclaimed.

"Spit it out," Jaden commanded tense while all but Paradox got in defensive stances.

"I activate Malefic Paradigm Shift which, at the cost of half of my life points (Paradox: Life Points 1750), allows me to summon my most wicked beast, Malefic Truth Dragon (Attack 5000/ Defense 5000)!" Paradox declared. A giant, golden dragon appeared on the field and Paradox's vehicle disappeared as he somehow fused with his new monster.

"I've seen some big monsters all my life but that behemoth definitely takes the cake," Jaden commented shocked.

"And it probably ate it too," Yusei agreed.

"This is your doing, Yugi! I hope you're pleased with yourself," Paradox yelled down.

Yugi growled. "I set two cards face down and end my turn," he declared.

Paradox began his turn. "I play Malefic Selector. By removing Malefic Parallel Gear and Malefic Cyber End Dragon from play, I can add two malefic monsters to my hand. And I'll send both Blue Eyes White Dragon and Red Eyes Black Dragon to the graveyard to summon their dark counterparts. Malefic Blue Eyes White Dragon and Malefic Red Eyes Black Dragon!" he played. Both dragons as their dark counterparts appeared onto the field.

"Both Blue Eyes and Red Eyes!" Yugi exclaimed shocked.

"Next I'll have Malefic Red Eyes Black Dragon attack that Dark Magician Girl. And so you know, with Malefic Truth Dragon's ability when it destroys one monsters all the other monsters are destroyed as well," Paradox declared.

"What?!" Yusei exclaimed.

"I activate De-Fusion! Neos Knight, time to split," Jaden declared. Elemental HERO Neos and Junk Gardna appeared on the field. "Now, Yusei."

Yusei gave a quick grin. "I use the effect of Junk Gardna to switch Malefic Red Eyes Black Dragon in defense mode," he declared switching the dragon as told. "Which means Dark Magician Girl is safe."

"Yusei, Jaden, nice teamwork," Yugi praised.

"I'll show you teamwork!" Paradox exclaimed. "Blue Eyes, pick up where Red Eyes left off." Yusei heard both dragons whimper in fear as Blue Eyes attacked Dark Magician and destroyed him. The four duelists' life points dropped to 2100. "Now Truth Dragon's ability activates. So now all your monsters are destroyed." Giant thorns appeared and began to rain down.

"Sorry, Paradox, don't think so!" Yusei stopped. "I activate Stardust Dragon's special ability. By releasing Stardust Dragon, I can negate your dragon's effect and then destroy it all together."

"What?!" Paradox responded.

"So say goodbye," the Signer responded and the thorns switched directions before flying in the opposite direction.

"I play Truth Dragon's other ability. But removing Malefic Rainbow Dragon from play, Truth Dragon is saved," Paradox reacted. "Now Malefic Truth Dragon attack!" As Neos was attacked and destroyed, his dragon's ability activates. "Remember when one goes they all go!" All the rest of our monsters were destroyed. "And did I forget to mention, for every monster destroyed by its effect, you take 800 points of damage." The three of protectors of time were pushed onto their backs by the explosion and their life points drop to 500. They slowly got back to their feet, Yusei ignoring the immense pain from his chest. "Next I activate Malefic Divide. With it, I can summon back Malefic Stardust Dragon! And now it will attack all of you!"

"No, my nightmare, my worst fear is coming true," Yusei said. "All is…" he stopped remembering that he couldn't lose hope. Not now, not yet.

"Don't surrender yet. We still have our secret weapon on our side," Jaden told him.

"Remember, we believe in duel monsters with all of our hearts while Paradox does not. And when you believe, you have hope," Yugi added.

"Maybe it would be better if I show you what we mean. I play, The Flute of Summoning Kuriboh. So we can add a Kuriboh or Wing Kuriboh to our hand," Jaden said. He looked at Yugi. "You're up."

"Right. Kuriboh!" Yugi called. "I activate your ability. So by sending it to the graveyard, it allows Kuriboh to take the hit instead of us." A giant Kuriboh appeared in front of them and blocked the attack.

"No!" Paradox exclaimed as Kuriboh shattered and the three on the ground stared up at him with a glare. "Yugi, I'll make you pay dearly for that little stunt!"

"I don't think you will. Because at the end of this turn, Malefic Divides effect is gone which means Malefic Stardust Dragon will be gone," Yugi retorted. Malefic Stardust Dragon disappeared because, true to Yugi's words, the effect of Malefic Divide was completed.

"But not the real Stardust Dragon. Because with its ability, it now returns to the field," Jaden added.

The three of them turned as Yusei's dragon appeared. "Stardust Dragon… glad your back," he told his dragon.

"Yusei," Yugi called and the Signer turned to him, "it's up to you now. It's your move. Just know that we're behind you, all of us are."

Yusei nodded, thinking of all his friends in New Domino and the galaxy. All of the worlds he needed to protect. He turned to the duel. "Alright, let's do this. For duel monsters and all my friends, and for the people of New Domino City."

Yugi nodded and Jaden exclaimed, "Yeah! No doubt! Now let him have it!"

"It will be my pleasure," Yusei responded. "I play a trap!"

The trap revealed itself and Paradox exclaimed, "Stardust Mirage! Oh no!"

"Oh, yes," the Signer retorted. "And since Stardust Dragon's on the field, I can bring back all of the monsters that were destroyed during this turn!" Dark Magician, Dark Magician Girl, Neos, and Junk Gardna appeared.

"But, I just got rid of all of them!" Paradox exclaimed.

"Now for our draw, and for your downfall, Paradox!" Yusei continued, drawing his card.

"I hate to interrupt good trash talking; but here, this is worth it!" Jaden called. "The trap Neos Spiral Force! This doubles the attack points of one monster on the field (Stardust Dragon: Attack 5000)."

"I also play a trap! Dark Spiral Force!" Yugi added. "And due to this force, I can select a monster out on our field and double its attack points once again (Stardust Dragon: Attack 10,000)!"

"10,000 attack points? No!" Paradox exclaimed.

"That's right," Yugi, Jaden, and Yusei responded in unison. Dark Magician, Neos, and Stardust Dragon took to the air.

"Dark Magician, attack!" Yugi ordered.

"Elemental HERO Neos, attack!" Jaden followed.

"Let this be proof, the light will always overcome the dark! Go, Stardust Dragon! Attack!" Yusei continued.

Stardust Dragon shot a fury of sparkling, white fire, Dark Magician threw dark purple orbs of light that circled around the fire, and Neos threw some of his attack which led to a orange spiraling force wrapping and twirling around the fire.

"Now, go, Dark Cosmic Wave!" the three duelists exclaimed.

"No! NO!" Paradox exclaimed while he was sent away and Malefic World disappeared signalling that the three good duelists won the duel. They all sighed in relief.

. . .

The sun was setting and Jaden and Yusei were beside Yugi as they waited to say goodbye to their friend.

"Well looks like our work is done here," Jaden stated.

"Looks that way," Yugi responded.

"Well, I guess this is goodbye then. Great meeting you both. Think we'll meet again sometime?" Jaden said.

"Yeah. But when we do, let's hope the whole world of duel monsters isn't on the line again," Yusei said.

"You said it, Yusei. Maybe we could duel each other. Whatever happens, I'm sure the bond we formed here today is one that's going to stand the test of time," Yami agreed.

"All of time," Jaden said putting his hand out.

"Absolutely," Yusei said placing his on the forming pile.

Yugi followed the gesture placing his hand on the other three's. The two duelists from another time left with the Crimson Dragon.


	23. The Danger Within

**A/N: I DO NOT OWN ANY OF YU GI OH 5Ds! ALL RIGHTS GO TO THE CREATORS! THE ONLY THING I OWN ARE MY OCS!**

Chapter 23: The Danger Within

After dropping Jaden off, Yusei found himself back on the overlook. He looked out to see the city in one piece. "The city's okay," he muttered relieved. Yusei heard laughing and Leo and Luna calling his name. When he looked, he saw Jack, Crow, Akiza, and the twins running to them happily.

They reached him and began asking him what happened exactly. He explained to the best of his ability without mentioning the pain in his chest, which was still there though it wasn't as bad as before. They seemed shocked and jealous that he managed to not only meet the _King of Games_ , but also duel by his side.

"So, Yusei, the tournament will be starting in a couple more weeks according to Mina," Luna commented. "Are you worried at all?"

"No," Yusei answered. "I know no matter what happens, we'll win and stop the world from being destroyed by Yliaster."

Suddenly, the pain in his chest spiked beyond the definition of painful. Yusei grabbed his chest out of reflex and groaned in inexplicable pain. It felt like the pain was slowly crawling across his chest like roots or a web and throughout his upper torso. Some of it felt like it was trying to reach his heart. And it was only getting worse with every passing moment.

"Yusei!" came Crow's voice, but the pain made it muffled in Yusei's ears. And the Signer of the Head could tell he was nearing to point of blacking out on them.

"Those Yliaster men did something to his chest when they tortured him," Jack stated. "And it's something bad."

"We need to get him to the hospital so they can check it out," Akiza stated. "They might be able to find something that we're missing." The others nodded in agreement. The two eldest men helped Yusei, who was barely able to walk with his chest, onto Crow's runner.

Jack said, "I'll get Yusei's runner to the garage first. Then I'll meet you at the hospital and you can fill me in."

"Alright, Jack," Crow agreed. Leo got behind Yusei to help his elder, hurt friend stay on Crow's runner and Luna got behind Akiza. They then took off with that with Jack taking Yusei's runner towards the garage.

. . .

When they arrived at the hospital, Yusei was immediately taken for a scan and other evaluations to figure out what was wrong. It didn't take long before Jack arrived with Bruno and joined their friends in waiting to hear Yusei's condition. They were quick to learn the doctor for Yusei now was the doctor who helped the Head Signer before, Doctor Akio Akamine. And when he came out to meet his friends, he seemed a bit worried.

"So, what's wrong with him?" Crow asked.

"Come with me," he stated. "I'll show you what we discovered as to what exactly was going on." They followed him into a room where Yusei was on a bed passed out, but still seeming to feel pain though it wasn't as bad as before. He moved the cover of their friend's chest a bit to show an almost web or root like design of lines pushing against his skin from underneath the flesh. "And that's not the worst of it." That worried the friends of Yusei.

He brought up a scan to show what appeared to me pointed, root shaped, needle like cords winding around the inside of Yusei's body. There were hundreds of them, maybe thousands and they were spreading throughout his chest. However, they all seemed to have set areas they were trying to reach. The main one being his heart while the other two areas were focused on the lungs. Though they weren't as close to the heart or lungs as they would've expected which had to be a chance, they were still closing in and there was no telling when they would reach their intended targets.

Doctor Akamine pointed to the source of the life threatening cords. It looked almost like a seed that was being torn apart a bit as the cords moved. "This source seems to be like a seed that was implanted before you initially brought him to me. Its location is within the center of the major gash he originally had. We never noticed it before, strangely. However, it seems like it has been growing those cords within him for quite some time now. And these cords, as you can see, are aiming towards the heart and lungs. If they reach them, there's no telling what'll happen."

"Are the cords still moving now?" Leo asked.

"No, they've stopped for the time being," the doctor answered. "But with how much they seem to be nearing those targets…" He sighed in sadness. "I would give Yusei about three weeks, _maybe_ four if we're lucky, before the cords reach his heart and lungs."

"Is there anything you can do to save him?" Luna asked.

"There has to be something," Crow commented tense.

"The only thing I can think of is to surgically going in there and take the cords and their source out bit by bit. But with how they are in place of his other organs and veins, if we made one wrong mistake, it would kill him," Doctor Akamine answered. "And the recovery from such a surgery could very well take months. And I know he's in the tournament with you and your best duelist. If we did the surgery now, you would lose him for the tournament and even risk losing him in general."

"Then what do you suggest?" Jack asked.

"If you want him to live, we will have to perform the surgery either way. But by what I heard, the tournament will be starting again in the next couple weeks, correct?" the doctor began and they nodded. "As a doctor, I am against this but as knowing we need him for the tournament, I will say this: Have him finish his duels in the tournament and keep a special eye on him; and when the tournament's done, bring him to me and we'll do what we can to take the cords out. That's the best solution I can think of at the moment for you and Yusei. But if there is any hope of saving him from this danger within him, I must insist we do the surgery as soon as the time is available."

"My doctor refused to let me duel in the tournament because of my shoulder. Why would you let Yusei duel when he's in this state?" Crow questioned.

"Because I have heard of Yliaster as they've put other patients of mine in here before and I know they are the final opponents the winners of the semi-finals will face," Doctor Akamine replied shocking them. "I can't let them continue to put people in here and Yusei, being the duelist he is and the fact he had you to help, is our best hope of stopping Yliaster."

"I'm surprised you've heard of them in the first place, to be honest," Akiza commented.

The doctor sighed a bit. "I've seen too many patients fall, saying that Yliaster was the cause of their injuries and problems that killed them. If there is any hope to stopping them from continuing this, you and Yusei are it."

' _When Yusei was captured, he said that those men who took him, Yliaster, were creating Two so he could stop us from winning to tournament because they felt our team were the biggest threat to them,'_ Crow thought. _'If Doctor Akamine is letting Yusei still duel in the tournament to stop them, he must think so, too. That's why they took him! So they didn't have people willing to reach for a future besides the one they're seeing as 'right'. Damn those men…'_

Doctor Akamine then said as he got a message on his pager, "I need to go tend to another patient. Yusei should be awake soon enough and he doesn't have any signs he'll be going into a coma like last time. But I do want Yusei to stay here a couple days to keep an eye on that thing in his chest for a bit. For now, though, let me know if you need anything." They nodded and he walked out.


	24. Stress

**A/N: I DO NOT OWN ANY OF YU GI OH 5Ds! ALL RIGHTS GO TO THE CREATORS! THE ONLY THING I OWN ARE MY OCS!**

Chapter 24: Stress

"Dammit, Yusei…" Crow growled, looking down and eyes shut tight to try to control his anger. Everyone else was just looking at the scan a bit in pure concern. "You could've at least told us about that thing going on with your chest. You couldn't have missed that and it would've told you there was something else going on."

They then turned to look at their friend. Yusei's face showed the slightest bit of pain, but it was almost as if it was due to a nightmare rather than physical pain. And it wasn't just pain in there, but it seemed like there was fear within that expression of his.

"He will be fine, right?" Luna asked as she and Leo went to Yusei's side.

"As long as those cords don't move too fast and we get him that surgery before they could do anything else, he'll be fine," Jack assured.

"But, Doctor Akamine said that it isn't guaranteed he'll survive the surgery," Leo reminded. "One thing wrong and Yusei will…"

"Don't worry, Leo," Akiza reassured. "Yusei won't give up on us and this city. He'll stay as strong as he can for as long as possible. Because that's who Yusei is." They nodded in agreement. "For now, let's let Yusei rest a bit. He needs it."

"I'm just worried about letting him sleep since it's like he's in a nightmare," Jack commented.

"Maybe we should try to snap him out of it," Crow suggested. "I do have a few things I want to say to him."

"Crow, don't get onto him immediately," Akiza ordered.

"Why shouldn't I? He's hidden something that'll kill him in four weeks at most," Crow argued.

"And if he really didn't know about it?" Luna asked and they looked at her. "When I listen to what his cards say, they just say he never pays attention to his chest's looks that often so it's reasonable that he missed it. All he probably knew about it was that it was hurting."

"If it was slowly getting worse, though," Crow responded. "And that wasn't a clue enough that he needed to check it out?"

"He probably didn't want to know so he didn't have to lie to us about not knowing a lot about what was happening with his chest," Akiza suggested.

"It's something he would do," Jack agreed. "Still, if he's that stubborn with keeping us from worrying about him, I think he needs to learn to let us help sometimes."

"Yeah, we tried that so many times when we were younger and recently, Jack," Crow retorted. "Didn't work out too well. Just resulted with him shutting us out for a few days."

"Well, we haven't had a reason like _this_ to argue our point with him," Jack fought.

"Guys, not now," Akiza stopped. "We're all just stressed with the news we just received. We can't let our emotions get the better of us and create fighting between us right now. Yusei wouldn't want that and that would put more stress on him once he wakes up."

Jack and Crow gave a slight groan of agreement. They knew she was right. And if Yusei woke up to them fighting about him, they weren't sure what he was going to do. Probably shut them out and go back to sleep or something.

"Yusei?" came Luna and Leo's quiet call.

The three eldest looked over to see Yusei's eyes open the slightest bit. It was clear he was still trying to wake up after the ordeal that made him pass out. And his furrowed eyebrows made it clear some of him was still in the nightmare. His eyes widened a bit more, but his eyes still seemed a bit unfocused and unseeing. Whatever nightmare he had been in while he was asleep, it still had him in it to some extent.

"Come on, Yusei," Akiza called gently. She slowly touched the side of his head. "We're right here. So snap out of it."

His eyes seemed to finally focus and he snapped up in shock. He groaned a bit as his chest ached for a moment, but panted as he came out of that nightmare. His face was down and he was obviously deep in thought.

"Easy, Yusei," Crow called gently. As soon as he saw Yusei wake up and snap out of his nightmare like that, he knew for a certain fact that Akiza was right as to not get onto Yusei immediately. His friend didn't need it at the moment. "Easy…"

But Yusei seemed like he was so deep in thought that he didn't hear them. Leo and Luna touched his arms in concern a bit and that seemed to snap him back to reality. He looked at them and then at the others. He shook his head a bit, as if to clear a bit of grogginess from his mind.

"Are you alright, Yusei?" Luna asked.

"My chest hurts and my head feels like it's been hit by a truck; but other than that, fine," he replied. "What happened?"

"You had just gotten back from fighting Paradox when your chest started getting worse. You could barely walk while we got you to Crow's runner to bring you to the hospital. And once we took off, you passed out," Akiza explained.

"What's happened to my runner?" Yusei asked.

"I brought it to the garage," Jack answered.

"Thanks," Yusei responded.

"Yusei, did you know about this?" Crow asked gesturing to his chest which was still revealed a bit since Doctor Akamine showed it to him. The Signer of the Head blinked, obviously surprised by what he was seeing. "I'll take that as a no."

"Do we know what it's about?" Yusei asked.

"Doctor Akamine showed us a scan of what's going on inside with that thing," Akiza stated and showed the scan to Yusei. "By what he's seen, the source was like a seed that was pushed into you before you came to the hospital after we saved you from that place."

"And it was in the center of that biggest gash those Yliaster men gave you," Jack added. "According to what they can tell, the cord things are focusing on gettings to your heart and lungs. And if they reach…"

"I'll die," Yusei finished looking away a bit. He then added in thought, _'So that's what that thing Jakob put in me was?'_ He then asked his friends, "How long do they think I have?"

"Three weeks, four if you're lucky," Leo answered sadly.

"Doctor Akamine is going to allow you to finish the tournament to stop Yliaster," Crow began surprising Yusei a bit. "He's had patients die to Yliaster before and he wants them to be stopped so it doesn't happen anymore. He thinks our team, and you especially, are the best hope we have of stopping them."

"Like what those men said," Yusei commented. They nodded in agreement.

"They said after the tournament, they want you back at the hospital, though," Akiza began.

"Why?" Yusei asked looking at her.

"They can perform a surgery to get the cords out," Akiza began and he went a bit wide eyed. "However, Doctor Akamine said one wrong move and you could die. Added, the recovery could easily take months. Even for you. But it's also the only chance you have at surviving from this."

Yusei looked down in thought. "Are we sure there isn't another way?"

"Even the doctor couldn't think of another option, Yusei," Crow replied. Yusei gave a small sigh and nodded. "We don't like this either, Yusei. But I'm not sure what choice we have if you're going to live."

"Yusei, are you sure you'll be alright?" Luna asked.

"Yeah," he answered.

"What nightmare were you in, exactly? We were barely able to snap you out of it?" Leo asked.

"It's just another one of my nightmares from when I was being tortured or in that base," Yusei answered. He paused for a moment, seeming to realize exactly what he said.

"Hold up. _Another_ one?" Crow questioned seeming ticked. "How many times have you been having nightmares of that place?"

"Almost every night," Yusei answered.

"I thought you were having nightmares of Zero Reverse recently," Jack commented.

"I had that nightmare a couple times recently," Yusei responded. "So I wasn't really lying. But most of my nights since you got me out were my days and nights at that place."

"Doesn't that tell you you can't stay locked up on the matter anymore?" Akiza asked.

"I've had recurring nightmares like this before. It just takes time to get them to stop," Yusei replied.

"Taking a few days? We are okay with that; A few weeks? Understandable after what you went through; Months, Yusei?" Crow sighed. "That isn't normal… Or good, at least. Even for you."

"When the nightmares first started, they went in order from the first day I was starting to be experimented on and tortured until the last day when you helped me escape. Once I reached that last nightmare after the day previous, I just repeated the same final nightmare almost every night," Yusei told them. He shook his head, looking down again. "This is nothing new, so it doesn't really bother me anymore that much."

"Why is it I don't believe that?" Jack asked and Crow folded his arms in agreement with Jack's question. Their injured friend looked at them with a raised eyebrow. "Yusei, Crow and I have known you since we were kids. We know when something is bothering you."

"The entirety of the nightmare doesn't bother me," he responded. "It's just the ending of it before I passed out that final time."

"What do you mean, Yusei?" Crow asked.

"Right before I passed out, I heard someone say something to Jakob, now that I know the name of the guy who tortured me. I could barely see anything, though, since I was so close to passing out. The last thing I remembered before blacking out from the pain of it was Jakob pushing something into the center of my chest through the gash he made," he explained.

"And you didn't say anything about that?" Jack asked getting angry.

"Jack, calm down," Akiza ordered. "Not right now."

"I didn't think it was really anything, Jack. Not at the time, anyway," Yusei told him, not looking at his friend. "I wasn't even sure if the amount of pain I was feeling from that was just me hallucinating or something from bloodloss. I didn't realize it would be something like this."

"Yusei…" Crow sighed, frustration in his voice.

"Guys, lay off him a bit," Bruno suggested gently. "He has a lot of problems on his mind right now. We don't need to add to it."

"Bruno's right," Luna agreed. Leo nodded followed by Akiza. The two other male Signers sighed in defeat, but managed to calm themselves down.

"Do we know how long until I can get out? I know they won't want me to leave immediately after this," Yusei asked.

"Doctor Akamine said he wants you to stay here for a couple days to keep an eye on you and that thing," Akiza answered. "After that, you should be free to go until that surgery."

"Alright," Yusei agreed. He sounded a bit downcast, but they didn't bother him with it at the moment. He didn't need it.

They talked for a while after that, trying to alleviate Yusei's stress. But it was obvious he had a lot of it: From his time with Yliaster and the nightmares of that place to the tournament to the cords in his chest preparing to kill him. He had too much stress to be put on a single person. They knew it was going to take a lot to relieve him of it completely. But, hopefully, that day would be soon.


	25. Between the Gods

**A/N: I DO NOT OWN ANY OF YU GI OH 5Ds! ALL RIGHTS GO TO THE CREATORS! THE ONLY THING I OWN ARE MY OCS!**

Chapter 25: Between the Gods

Yusei had been let out of the hospital two days after discovering the cords within his chest. The others had laid off him a bit on checking on him everyday, relieving him; but they were obviously concerned with the fate Yusei was being directed to. And they didn't seem to like him dueling as much with his chest when it could attack him like it did earlier.

Luckily, Yusei was back to normal after that assault that knocked him out. Of course, that also meant he was back to being his stubborn self in terms of protecting his friends and pushing aside his problems for theirs. Yusei was a reliable friend because he could be there for others' problems; but when you got to know him to the point where you learn like what the Signers and twin had, you can see that stubborn will of his as frustrating as they were.

After all, he was pushing aside basically everything related to his chest and problems even more now than ever before. That only made it seem like a problem for them. But they knew at the present moment, they couldn't push the matter. He seemed as stressed as them about the topic and they didn't want to add to it or result in him shutting them out.

Now, however, it was the evening before the semi-finals begun. Yusei, Jack, and Crow had stopped at the overlook to talk about the coming events.

"So our next opponent is Team Ragnarok," Jack commented.

"They're said to be tough opponents. They have three Nordic God cards and people say they have the Rune Eyes," Yusei commented.

"Doesn't that mean they're successors of some Aesir ground?" Crow asked.

"Yep," Yusei replied. "They're tough opponents by what I've heard. Especially with their god cards. According to what I've been told, their god cards aren't as tough as the legendary Egyptian God cards but they are tough nonetheless."

"Sounds like you think we'll be easy to beat," came a voice from behind.

They turned around and saw the three members of Team Ragnarok standing there. "Seems we finally meet somewhere other than a battlefield," Halldor stated.

"Seems so," Yusei responded.

"I say we should at least tell you about the Aesirs," Broder stated.

"Hmm, perhaps," Halldor agreed and immediately began to explain the tale of how the Aesirs came to be and how the members of Team Ragnarok came to obtaining the Aesirs. When the story was finished, Jack and Crow were a bit tense but Yusei was perfectly calm unmoved by their words which might shake another duelist. "You are right about one thing, Yusei. We are tough opponents. Tough enough where we will defeat you," Halldor responded to her.

"Do you really think you can stop Team New World?" Jack asked.

"Instead of going against Team New World apart, perhaps we should try to expose the plot of Team New World and help one another in that quest," Yusei suggested.

"No," Halldor declared. "The Aesir are not willing to enter an alliance with the Crimson Dragon's Signers. Especially with one who is in the bloodline of someone who caused pain and destruction."

Yusei tensed. "Zero Reverse was an accident," he told Halldor. "For the most part at least. Roman Goodwin was convinced to by Yliaster and caused it himself. My father wanted to stop the project before Zero Reverse occurred."

"Is that so?" Halldor scoffed. "It was Professor Fudo's research that caused that explosion. It was his research."

"Either way, Halldor, it wasn't Professor Fudo's or Yusei's fault. Yusei was only a baby when Zero Reverse occurred," Crow defended.

"Even though it was his father's research, it wasn't his father who caused Zero Reverse. He tried to stop it, actually," Jack told them.

"You truly believe that?" Halldor asked. The two other Signer nodded.

"I'm shocked, Atlas. You seem liked you've changed quite a bit since the last time we dueled," Dragan stated.

"You fought him before, Jack?" Crow asked.

"Once," Jack replied, "and beat him too."

"Don't you remember that duel better, Jack?" Dragan asked.

"I do," Jack answered.

 **~Flashback~**

Jack drew his card as he took the first draw. "I summon Top Runner (Attack 1100/ Defense 800) in attack mode and set two face downs," he declared.

Dragan drew his card. "I summon Garmr of the Nordic Beasts (Attack 800/ Defense 1900) in attack mode and finish my turn with a face down," he proclaimed.

"I summon Power Breaker (Attack 1900/ Defense 0) in attack position. Now I turn Power Breaker with Top runner to synchro summon Red Dragon Archfiend (Attack 3000/ Defense 2500)! Now attack his Garmr!" Jack ordered his dragon. Red Dragon Archfiend attacked and destroyed Garmr.

The duel ran forward but eventually, Dragan lost the duel.

 **~Flashback Ended~**

"Did you know I was forced to lose of purpose by Lazar and Former Director Goodwin in order to raise money for my father's hospitalization?" Dragan asked. Jack tensed.

"We will see you in the semifinal match soon enough, Team 5D's. The winner of this will receive the right to face Team New World," Halldor called.

"I have a question for you: What reason do you have to wanting to defeat Yliaster and Team New World?" Crow asked.

"We simply want to protect the world from them," Dragan answered.

"Yeah, well, we probably have a lot more beef with them than you," Jack retorted.

"Jack, Crow…" Yusei called warningly. He knew at this point it was inevitable, but he really didn't want it mentioned to anyone.

"How so?" Halldor asked.

"They put Yusei through living hell," Crow answered seeming angry about it, the answer shocking the three Aesir servants.

"What do you mean by that?" Broder asked.

"Guys, we don't need to go over that," Yusei tried to stop.

"No, I wish to hear this, Yusei," Halldor intervened. Yusei sighed in defeat. "How did they put you through 'living hell'?"

"A few months ago, about eight or so months before the World Racing Grand Prix started, I was kidnapped by Yliaster, though I didn't know who exactly took me at the time," Yusei began and they went wide eyed. "They locked me in an underground base where my marker's signal was cut off. While I was there for the first three weeks, they performed experiments on me to get as much biological data as they could."

"For what reason exactly?" Dragan asked.

"They made a copy of me to try to trick my friends and make my team lose," Yusei answered shocking them.

"They what?!" Broder questioned.

"They did," Crow answered. "About two and a half months or so after him returning in Yusei's place, Jack and I finally begun to notice the difference between him and Yusei. We weren't sure about it and didn't press until Yusei used our marks to contact us and warn us."

"And if you thought once they made my copy, that's the end of my pain, that's wrong," Yusei added. "Every time the copy wanted information it didn't have to make it more like me, its creators, the Emperors of Yliaster which we only recently learned the names to, would switch out and torture me for answers. I usually passed out from the sessions and bloodloss before I could give anything away."

"They… tortured you?" Dragan questioned.

Yusei gave a small nod. "And the sessions happened almost every day while I was their prisoner. Sometimes through the night. When I contacted the other Signers just to warn them, I wasn't asking for them to get me out of there. Just to not let that copy codenamed as Two hurt them anymore."

"But once he did warn us and we figured out it was absolutely true, we barely managed to convince Two to take us to the base and get Yusei out. We had just gotten Yusei down from a pole after being tortured when Jakob, the main Emperor or one of his torturers, came in and tried to convince Two to bring Yusei back to him. In the end, Two sacrificed himself to save me," Crow answered shocking them further. "When we finally got out of the base with Yusei, we brought Yusei to the hospital where he was in a four week coma."

"So that's the reason we heard about you being in a coma, then," Halldor stated.

"Exactly," Yusei answered. He looked down a bit. "With all my injuries, I nearly died after waking up." They went wide eyed in pure shock.

"I guess that is a reason to want to face them other than saving the world," Broder commented.

"Saving the world is still a reason we're facing them. Honestly, that's the only reason I want to beat them," Yusei responded. "What happened back then is done. I need to move passed it."

"Yeah, until we can get those things out of you, Yusei, that's not going to happen anytime soon," Crow retorted seeming annoyed.

"What 'things'?" Dragan asked.

"Right before my friends found me in the torture room and got me out of the base, they put something in my chest through a gash in my chest they made that went from my shoulder across my chest and to my hip. The doctors only found it a couple weeks ago," Yusei replied. "Before, it was a seed like device that at some point released a bunch of needle like cords throughout my chest that continue to grow slowly. And the cords have a set target, being my heart and lungs."

"So you're going to die?" Broder asked.

"When we discovered the cords about two weeks ago, the doctor gave an estimate of three to four weeks before they reach his heart and lungs," Jack answered. "He'll be lucky if he gets four weeks."

"I see…" Halldor responded.

"But if I do die from this, I don't want my reasons of facing Team New World and Yliaster being revenge or anything. Revenge doesn't solve anything, after all. So I'm just focusing on facing them so we can stop this world from being destroyed by them," Yusei stated. "If saving the world from destruction made by Yliaster is my last act here, then it's better than letting it be due to revenge."

"Do you see what we mean when we have more against Yliaster than you guys?" Crow asked. They gave a small nod while looked down.

Yusei sighed a bit. "But I don't want you guys to let us win," he told them. They looked at him a bit shocked. "It wouldn't be right to face you and you just to let us win so we can face them because of what they've done to me and my team. So when we do face each other, for the fairness of the duel tournament, don't hold back on us and duel in real time."

"We will, Yusei," Halldor agreed. "And with that in mind, I believe we should take out leave. And remember, the next time we meet may not be as pleasant."

"Talk about a confident bunch," Crow muttered.

"But respectable," Yusei added.

"I'm surprised you told them to go all out on us," Jack commented. "It would've made things so much easier."

Yusei turned back to the view as he leaned against the railing and said, "Maybe. But it wouldn't be right to have them let us win, would it?"

"I guess it wouldn't," Jack agreed.

"We just have to be ready for one hard duel, then," Crow stated. "Two if you count our duel against Yliaster. After all, we will win.

"We will," Yusei assured. "We have to." They nodded.


	26. The Power of Double Tuning

**A/N: I DO NOT OWN ANY OF YU GI OH 5Ds! ALL RIGHTS GO TO THE CREATORS! THE ONLY THING I OWN ARE MY OCS!**

Chapter 26: The Power of Double Tuning

"Duel fans of all ages, welcome to the semifinals where Team 5Ds is going up against the formidable Team Ragnarok! This will all boil down to what promises will be an incredible duel!" the MC called. Jack looked at Dragan who returned the gesture as they got ready to duel. The light flashed green and Jack and Dragan shot off like a bullet racing for the first turn. "And they're off!"

' _Be careful, Jack,'_ Yusei thought. _'There's something dangerous about this duel.'_

Jack was successful in taking the first turn and drew his card. "I summon Top Runner (Attack 1100/ Defense 800) in attack mode and set two cards face down to end my turn," Jack declared.

"Then it's my turn," Dragan stated drawing his card from his deck. "I summon Garmr of the Nordic Beasts (Attack 800/ Defense 1900) in attack mode and set a face down. That's all for now."

Jack drew his card. "If we're reliving that old duel then this might add it up. "I summon Power Breaker (Attack 1900/ Defense 0) in attack mode. Now I tune Power Breaker with Top Runner to synchro summon a beast of great power. Come forth, Red Dragon Archfiend (Attack 3000/ Defense 2000)!" Jack declared. "Red Dragon Archfiend, attack Garmr!"

"This will be different because I activate my face down known as Nordic Relic Brisingamen! This increases the attack of Garmr to equal the attack of Red Dragon Archfiend until the end phase (Garmr of the Nordic Beasts: Attack 3000)," Dragan returned. "Oh, and if Garmr destroys a monster by battle this turn, the attack of the destroyed monster will be inflicted to you as damage."

"Well I activate my face down, Reaction Summon to special summon Top Runner from my graveyard. And due to the effect of Top Runner, the attack of my face up synchro monsters increase by 600 (Red Dragon Archfiend: Attack 3600)," Jack retorted. Red Dragon Archfiend destroyed Garmr in the one attack dropping Dragan's life points to 3400. Jack groaned in pain and that's when both Team Ragnarok and Team 5Ds knew the all too real truth that damage was going to be felt and real. "Just keep dueling, Dragan. We'll finish this one way or another."

"You really have changed," Dragan replied with an impressed grin. He then returned to the duel and became deadly serious again, "Since a monster I destroyed was destroyed by battle, I can special summon Tanngnjostr of the Nordic Beasts (Attack 800/ Defense 1100) from my hand in defense position."

Though Top Runner went to attack Tanngnjostr, it failed due to the attack and defense of both monsters being equivalent. Jack only attacked to prevent Top Runner from being destroyed by the effect of his demonic looking dragon which Yusei knew as him and his friends watched from the sidelines nervously.

"I set a face down to end my turn," Jack responded.

Dragan drew his card. "I switch my Tanngnjostr into attack position. Because it switched battle position, I can activate its effect allowing me to special summon Tanngrisnir of the Nordic Beasts (Attack 1200/ Defense 800) from my deck in attack mode. And since you control a synchro monster, I can special summon Guldfaxe of the Nordic Beasts (Attack 1600/ Defense 1000) from my hand," he declared. "Now I tune my Tanngnjostr and Tanngrisnir with Guldfaxe to synchro summon Thor: Lord of the Aesir (Attack 3500/ Defense 2800)! Now I activate the effect of Thor which negates the effects of your Top Runner until the end phase and have Thor gain Top Runner's effect for this turn only (Red Dragon Archfiend: Attack 3000; Thor: Lord of the Aesir: Attack 4100). And now I think I'll have Thor attack that dragon!" Red Dragon Archfiend was destroyed and Jack's life points plummeted to 2900. "I set two face downs and end my turn." Since Dragan had ended his turn, Thor's attack points returned to its normal 3500.

Jack drew his card. "I summon Barrier Resonator (Attack 300/ Defense 800) in defense mode. Next I switch Top Runner to defense and end my turn with a face down," Jack declared.

"My draw!" Dragan exclaimed drawing his card. "I activate Thor's effect negating Top Runner's effect for you and allowing me to use it until the end phase (Thor: Lord of the Aesir: Attack 4100). Now I activate Nordic Relic Mjollnir allowing Thor to attack twice this turn and allowing Thor to inflict 1000 points of direct damage to you should he destroy a monster in battle. Now Thor, attack that Barrier Resonator!" Thor did as he was told and Barrier Resonator was destroyed resulting Jack life points dropping to 1900. Thor then attacked and destroyed Top Runner with Mjollnir activating and dropping Jack to a mere 900 life points.

"I activate Tuner's Reflect. This resummons both Barrier Resonator and Top Runner from my graveyard and inflicts battle damage straight to you equaling the combined attack points of the two monsters," Jack retorted and Dragan's life points dropped to 2000.

"I end my turn with one face down," Dragan declared and Thor's attack returned to his original 3500 again.

"I don't like this," Crow stated in the stands.

It was Jack's turn. "I activate the effect of Speed World 2. By removing four speed counters, I can inflict 800 points of damage for every speed spell in my hand," Jack declared. He showed his Speed Spell- End of the Storm making Dragan's life points drop to 1200. "Next I activate Descending Lost Star allowing me to summon Red Dragon Archfiend from the graveyard in defense mode with its effects negated, its defense reduced to 0 and its level reduce by 1 (Red Dragon Archfiend: Defense 0/ Level 7). Now I double tune Red Dragon Archfiend with Top Runner and Barrier Resonator to synchro summon a monster of extraordinary power," he declared.

"Double tuning?!" all three members of Team Ragnarok exclaimed in bewilderment.

"That's right. And with the power of this double tune, I will synchro summon my ultimate beast. Meet Red Nova Dragon (Attack 3500/ Defense 3000)!" Jack declared.

In the pit, Yusei and the others looked at the dragon shocked and amazed though Yusei still remained stoic and unmoved by the magnificent beast in appearance. He had felt something different within Jack's deck lately. And now he knew why. He was feeling this dragon and he had had a feeling Jack was going to use it eventually.

"Yusei, did you know he had this dragon?" Crow asked noticing his expression.

"No, not entirely. I had felt like there was something new within Jack's deck," Yusei replied. "I wasn't sure what it was, but I knew it was going to be used eventually."

"Due to the effect of Red Nova, it gains 500 attack points for every tuner monster in my graveyard (Red Nova Dragon: Attack 4500)," Jack informed Dragan. "Now Red Nova attack Thor: Lord of the Aesir!"

' _That won't be enough, Jack,'_ I thought.

"I activate Raging Sacred Curse!" Dragan responded. "This reduces Red Nova Dragon's attack and Defense by 2000 (Red Nova Dragon: Attack 2500/ Defense 1000). Next I activate Solemn Authority which prevents Thor from being affected by your trap cards for two turns."

"I activate Burning Rebirth!" Jack retorted. "By tributing Red Nova Dragon, I can special summon Red Dragon Archfiend (Attack 3000/ Defense 2000) from my graveyard." Red Nova vanished leaving Red Dragon Archfiend in its place with Red Dragon Archfiend equipped with Burning Rebirth. "Now I activate the second effect of Burning Rebirth. By sending it and my Trap Eater from my hand to the graveyard, I can special summon Red Nova Dragon (Attack 3500/ Defense 3000) from my graveyard." Since Burning Rebirth was removed from the field, Red Dragon Archfiend was also destroyed. "Now since there are three tuner monsters in my grave, Red Nova gains 1500 attack points (Red Nova Dragon: Attack 5000). Now Red Nova Dragon, attack Thor: Lord of the Aesir!" The attack pulled through and destroyed Thor and knocking Dragan's life points to 0 making Jack the winner.

"Before I'm down for the count, Thor's ability activates reviving him at a full 3500 attack points and dealing 800 points of direct damage at you," Dragan finished.

As Jack's life points dropped to 100 points, Dragan passed the baton to Broder went after Jack with Thor still in tow.

Broder drew his card. "I set two face downs and activate Thor's effect which negates Red Nova Dragon's effect and grants Thor his effects until the end phase (Red Nova Dragon: Attack 3500)," he declared. "Now Thor, attack Red Nova Dragon!" As the attack hit, both monsters were destroyed due to the equaling attack points. Broder ended his turn reviving Thor and knocking Jack's life points to 0 with its effect making Broder the winner.

Jack came over and Crow took off. _'Be careful, Crow,'_ Yusei thought.


	27. Tricks or Tricks

**A/N: I DO NOT OWN ANY OF YU GI OH 5Ds! ALL RIGHTS GO TO THE CREATORS! THE ONLY THING I OWN ARE MY OCS!**

Chapter 27: Tricks or Tricks

As Crow caught up to Broder, Bruno commented, "There are still two more of these god cards."

"Knowing Crow, he won't allow the second one to be summoned," Leo responded. He looked at Yusei and noticed his tense atmosphere around Yusei. "Something wrong, Yusei?"

He sighed and slowly said while looking at Crow through the monitor, "I just feel like this won't be as easy for Crow as you think. Broder is also known as the Trick Star, after all. And if the attacks and damage was real…" He shook his head. "We just have to hope Crow won't be hurt too bad. Crow will find a way, though." They looked back at the duel.

"I'll beat you in a second, Crow," Broder told the man.

"Don't underestimate me," Crow responded. He drew his card calling, "I'll bring out the power of my Blackwings." And the duel began. "Since you control a monster and I don't, I can summon Blackwing- Sirocco the Dawn (Attack 2000/ Defense 900) in attack position with tribute. And now since I control a Blackwing monster, I can special summon Blackwing- Gale the Whirlwind (Attack 1300/ Defense 400) in attack mode. I then activate Gale's effect to halve the attack and defense of Thor (Thor, Lord of the Aesir: Attack 1750/ Defense 1400) until the end phase. And now since the total levels of the Blackwing monster I control are at least eight, I can special summon Blackwing- Calima the Haze (Attack 600/ Defense 1800) from his hand in attack position with its effect. Now I tune Blackwing- Calima the Haze with Blackwing- Gale the Whirlwind in order to synchro summon. Rise, Blackwing Armor Master (Attack 2500/ Defense 1500)! Blackwing Armor Master, attack Thor!" The attack destroyed Broder's monster and his life points fell to 3250. Sirocca, attack Broder directly!" The man's fell to 1250.

"I activate my face down, The Golden Apples! This increases my life points by the battle I took this turn and summon a Malus Token which attack and defense equals that amount (Attack 2750/ Defense 2750)," Broder defended.

"I set two cards face down and my end turn," Crow finished. And due to it being the end phase, Thor's effect, it was revived and inflicted 800 to Crow. The bird named man life points fell to 3200 and he cried out in pain.

Broder drew his card and Solemn Authority was destroyed due to its last effect. "I activate the effect of Thor. This negates the effects of Blackwing Armor Master and granting those effects to Thor until the end phase. Malus Token, attack Blackwing- Sirocco the Dawn!" Broder ordered and the attack destroyed Crow's monster while dropping his life points to 2450. "Thor, attack Blackwing Armor Master!" Crow's last monster was destroyed and his life points fell to 1450.

"Since two Blackwing monsters were destroyed the same turn, I can special summon Blackwing- Brisote the Tailwind (Attack 1200/ Defense 1800) in attack position," the bird named man played. "I activate my face down, Black Return! This increases my life points by the attack of Thor, Lord of the Aesir and return it to your extra deck."

"I activate Nordic Relic Laevateinn! This destroys Thor due to it destroying a monster in a battle this turn," Broder fought. "And since your Black Return's target was removed, its effect of Black Return is negated." He smirked. "I set a face down and end my turn. And since it's the end phase, you know what that means, don't you?" Thor rose again and inflicted another 800 points of damage to Crow, dropping his life points to 650.

"I can't believe the attacks are real," Jack commented.

' _I'm well below the safety line,'_ Crow thought in worry. _'If Broder has a speed spell in his hand next turn, I lose.'_ As they complete the lap, he passes the kids and they cheer for him.

Broder stated, "I had kids that I, myself, protect. But yours can't count on Team 5D's to protect the children and defeat Yliaster." That caught Crow's attentioned. "I used to be a treasure hunter, to be honest. But that changed when I met a bunch of kids who were lone survivors of a war. I wouldn't leave the island as there were no other adults to really take care of the kids. Eventually, parents came to adopt them, but I'd heard rumors of the organization that triggered the war. That's not something I can just brush off."

' _This far-reaching organization is Yliaster!'_ Crow realized. _'That's the mission Broder is determined to follow no matter what: defeating Yliaster. But I can't give up here. Not after what Yliaster did to Yusei and are planning to do to the world.'_ He drew his card. "I summon Blackwing- Blizzard the Far North (Attack 1300/ Defense 0) in defense mode and activate its effect. This revives Blackwing- Gale the Whirlwind (Attack 1300/ Defense 400) in defense mode. Then I activate my face down Blackboost to draw two cards since I control at least two Blackwing monsters. After that, I activate the Speed Spell- Speed Force! This prevents you from destroying my cards through spells and traps until my next standby phase. Next I activate the effect of Blackwing- Gale the Whirlwind to halve Thor's attack and defense (Thor, Lord of the Aesir: Attack 1750/ Defense 1400). Now I tune Blackwing- Brisote the Tailwind with Blackwing- Gale the Whirlwind to synchro summon. Rise up, Black-Winged Dragon (Attack 2800/ Defense 1600)! And now since Brisote was sent to the graveyard as a synchro material, its effect activates, increasing my life points by 600." Crow's life points jumped to 1250. "Black-Winged Dragon, attack Thor!" The attack succeeded and Broder's life points fell to 2950. "I set a face down and end my turn."

"Well, that means Thor's back and inflicts another 800 points of damage at you," Broder responded.

"Not quite, Broder," Crow retorted shocking him. "See, my dragon's got an effect. By placing a Blackwing Counter on it and decrease its attack and defense points (Black-Winged Dragon: Attack 2100/ Defense 1600), I can avoid damage."

Though he was frustrated, Broder stayed calm and continued the duel, "I summon Ljosalf of the Nordic Alfar (Attack 1400/ Defense 1200) in attack position and activate its effect to special summon Svartalf of the Nordic Alfar (Attack 1400/ Defense 1600) in attack position. Now I tune Malus Token with Ljosalf with Svartalf to synchro summon. Rise, Loki, Lord of the Aesir (Attack 3300/ Defense 3000)!"

' _That's not good,'_ Yusei thought a bit worried.

"Loki, attack Black-Winged Dragon!" Broder ordered.

"I activate Black Sonic! This removes from play all of your attack position monsters," Crow defended.

"I activate Loki's effect! It negates the effect of Black Sonic and destroys it," Broder fought. Loki continued the attack against Black-Winged Dragon and destroyed it while dropping Crow's life point to a mere 50. "Thor, attack Blizzard the Far North!" The attack succeeded and destroyed Crow's monster.

"How is Crow going to survive at this rate?" Leo asked worriedly. They all looked at Yusei for his ideas being the best duelist they had.

"He'll find a way," he told them. "I've known him since he was a younger than memory. Even if it seems futile, he'll find a way to keep things as easy as possible for this team. But Crow will do all he can to ensure that this team wins. And that's all we have to rely on. And all we can do is hope that he comes out on top." They nodded and turned back to the duel.

Crow drew his card. "I activate the effect of Speed World 2. By removing seven speed counters, I can draw one card. I then set two face downs and end my turn," he played.

Broder drew his card. "I activate the effect of Speed World 2 as well! By removing ten speed counters, I can destroy one of your set cards!" he declared and the card destroyed was Black Wing. "Loki, attack Crow directly!"

"I activate my other face down Black Wing! This negates the attack by removing from play one Blackwing from my graveyard," Crow defended.

"I activate the effect of Loki! This negates the effect of Black Wing and destroys it," Broder fought.

"I remove Blackwing- Calima the Haze from my graveyard to revive Black-Winged Dragon (Attack 2800/ Defense 1600)!" Crow declared and his dragon returned to his side.

"Well, Loki, attack that dragon!" Broder ordered.

"I activate the second effect of Black Wing! By removing the two Black Wings in my graveyard, I can destroy both Black-Winged Dragon and Loki and inflict the attack of Loki as damage to you," Crow fought.

Broder's life points fell to 0 but Broder then called, "I activate my face down Dromi the Sacred Shackles! This inflicts damage at you equal to the difference between Black-Winged Dragon and Loki." The assault hit and the duel ended in a draw. But due to it being Broder's end phase, Loki returned to the field.

Broder and Crow passed the batons to Halldor and Yusei and both duelists sped forward to duel against each other.


	28. God Against Gods

**A/N: I DO NOT OWN ANY OF YU GI OH 5Ds! ALL RIGHTS GO TO THE CREATORS! THE ONLY THING I OWN ARE MY OCS!**

Chapter 28: God Against Gods

"Am I the only one worried about Yusei getting dealt real damage with his chest?" Luna asked.

"No, Luna," Crow answered. "I think we're all on edge with that."

. . .

Yusei drew his card. "I summon Cosmic Compass (Attack 100/ Defense 300) in defense mode," he declared. "Now since I normal summoned it, I can activate its effect allowing me to summon a Compass Token for each of your monsters that you control. And since you control two, I can summon two Compass Tokens in defense mode (Attack 0/ Defense 0 for each token). Finally I set two face downs." Halldor drew his card and the Signer was quick to activate one of his face downs, "I activate Monster Chain! This places a counter of Monster Chain for each monster I control which it three so Monster Chain gains 3 counters. While Monster Chain is face up, neither player can declare an attack but during your end phase, Halldor, I must remove a Chain Counter and when it has no Chain Counters, Monster Chain is destroyed." This put the gods in a chain not allowing it to attack.

"I summon Valkyrie of the Nordic Ascendant (Attack 400/ Defense 800) in attack position," he began. "Next I activate its effect! By sending Interdimensional Matter Transporter and Baton of the Hero from my hand to the graveyard, I can special summon two Einherjar Tokens (Attack 1000/ Defense 1000 for both) in defense mode. Now I tune my two tokens with Valkyrie in order to synchro summon. I call forth, Odin, Father of the Aesir (Attack 4000/ Defense 3500)!" he declared and his monster rose up. "I activate Odin's effect making all divine- beast type monsters unaffected by spells and traps for one turn meaning it is not affected by Monster Chain for now. Now, Loki, Thor, attack his Compass Tokens!" The two monster tokens were destroyed with ease. "And finally Odin, attack his Cosmic Compass!" Yusei's final monster shattered to pieces, leaving him defenseless of monsters. "Finally I set a face down and end my turn. Now do you see, Yusei? You won't be able to defeat me. Now, perhaps it is time I tell you how I ended up gaining the right to wield Odin." Yusei didn't respond, allowing Halldor to explain his travels around the world and strengthening himself to gain the right to wield Odin. "Which is why you will not win. You see, you're the very last obstacle in my way to saving the world. But you won't be standing in my way for long, the gods will see to that. Which is why I offer you a chance to leave this with at least some of your dignity intact. I offer you the chance to surrender. Otherwise, you will feel the full force of my three chilling powerhouses!"

"Is that so? You know, I think it's time I told you a little tale of my own, Halldor. You see, you're not the only one who's come all the way to the Grand Prix to fight for something," Yusei retorted.

"What do you mean, Yusei?" Halldor asked.

"You know what I mean," Yusei replied and Halldor obviously knew the Signer was thinking about how the Aesir accused him of being able to cause the same damage his father's research did. "My heart didn't want to believe what you said could be true, but then I remembered a dream about my father. In it, he warned me of a great danger." The sounded of an echo reached both their ears and they looked up. "I know what that is now. It's the Divine Temple and my father's shadow."

"Your father's shadow?" Halldor repeated.

"You see, I was born on the same day that this city nearly perished," Yusei informed. "Was it coincidence? Or was it something much more? Something to do with the Fudo family? Even though Zero Reverse was not my father's fault, he was a part of it. So maybe there something about my bloodline that brings doom and despair and if that turns out to be the case, then I'll do what I must to stop it. Just as I'll stop Team New World. You see, I've realized something important: Nothing will ever change what happened here in New Domino City. The only thing I can control is what happens next! So that's just what I plan to do."

"I see," Halldor responded.

"So to answer your question: no, Halldor, there's no way I'll ever surrender!" Yusei answered. His mark glowed followed by the others.

. . .

In the booth, all the Signer's marks vanished. "He's coming," Akiza stated.

. . .

All the marks combined onto Yusei giving him the Mark of the Crimson Dragon.

"What in the world?" Halldor responded to his mark. "That's the Mark of the Crimson Dragon!"

"Yes, because he's the only one strong enough to take on your Nordic Gods. Now then, it's my turn!" Yusei responded and drew his card. "I play the Speed Spell- Angel Baton! Since I have at least two speed counters, I can draw two additional cards from my deck by sending one card in my hand to the graveyard. Next I summon forth, Debris Dragon (Attack 1000/ Defense 2000)!"

"It's a tuner monster. He's planning a synchro," Halldor realized.

"And when Debris Dragon is summoned, I get summon a monster with five hundred or less attack points straight from my graveyard. And the monster I choose is Cosmic Compass," Yusei responded. "And now since a tuner monster is on my field, I can summon from my graveyard, Quillbolt Hedgehog (Attack 800/ Defense 800)! Next up, since a monster was summoned from my graveyard, I can summon this monster from my hand: Dopplewarrior (Attack 800/ Defense 800)! But I'm not through yet. Dopplewarrior, tune with Quillbolt Hedgehog and Debris Dragon! Now out of three will come on, and out of one will come great cosmic might. I synchro summon, the synchro monster Stardust Dragon!"

"Your ultimate beast, but it doesn't matter. Stardust Dragon is still no match for my Nordic Gods," Halldor stated.

"I activate Dopplewarrior's ability. When it's used in a synchro summon, I'm allowed to bring out one Dopple Token to my field. Then from my hand I activate the Speed Spell- Overtune!" Yusei continued. "Due to Overtune, since I have five speed counters, I am now allowed to release one monster on my field. And in exchange, I can summon one tuner monster from my hand that has the same level."

"Wait, just what's going on here?" Halldor asked.

"I release level one Dopple Token, and summon Majestic Dragon (Attack 0/ Defense 0)!" Yusei continued. "Now Cosmic Compass and Majestic Dragon, tune with Stardust Dragon! You were wrong when you called Stardust Dragon my ultimate beast Halldor; this is my ultimate beast. I now synchro summon, the Majestic Star Dragon (Attack 3800/ Defense 3000)!"

"They're something about that beast," Halldor commented on the field. He stared at it and the Crimson Dragon could be seen through his rune eye. "This monster in the incarnation of the Crimson Dragon!" He smirked a bit. "No matter. He cannot attack."

"Now since Cosmic Compass was used to synchro summon, I get to make an additional draw," Yusei declared. "Next I throw down a face down. Then, end my turn. And now that I have, I activate a face down. The trap Star Force. By paying 1000 life points, I can negate the effect of one monster until the next turn. And I negate the effects of Majestic Star Dragon to prevent it from returning it my extra deck."

"It's my turn." Halldor drew his card. "Dear Yusei, I applaud your effort to keep fighting; but as you can see, Odin out matches your dragon by 200 points and even if he didn't, you'd better believe I've taken extra precautions to secure my victory regardless. Precautions such as this one, I activate a trap card: Odin's Eye! And I'm afraid, Yusei, that your Majestic Star Dragon's ability cannot negate the activation of this card."

"It's not?" he questioned.

"That's right, Yusei. When a god is on the field, nothing can negate the effect of Odin's Eye and that being the case, this trap activates," Halldor declared. "Now by negating the abilities of a god card, I'm allowed to look at your hand or a face down on your field. And I think I'll choose to look at your face down, Yusei." Odin's metal eye opened and Halldor grinned and stated, "I see. How interesting, you're face down card is Wave Rebound. That means on this very turn, if a synchro was summoned from the graveyard, you could negate that summoning and then you could deal damage equal to what that synchro's attack points were. A very cunning scheme you have planned and I do believe if you had managed to execute your scheme at this present moment, you would have won the duel. However, I think you know quite well I won't be letting that happen. Not a chance, not since I've seen it coming. Ah, Yusei, this is how it should be. Perhaps it is not as exciting for the crowd, but I assure you, it is exciting for me. After all, the very best part of a chess match, such as this, is the moment the players just sit and strategize. And given the present state of this duel of ours, well, that's what we must do now. I place one card face down and end my turn."

. . .

"If only Yusei had been able to get off his trap," Crow stated.

"But he didn't get it off though and that's that," Jack retorted. "It's like Yusei said, you can't change the past but you can control what happens next. Course by that logic, Halldor can too."

"The good news is by Yusei's Stay Force trap, Majestic Star Dragon can stay for now three more turns," Bruno stated.

"But you have to remember Bruno, Monster Chain's effect will end on Yusei's next turn," Akiza reminded. "After that, we should expect to see some real fireworks."

. . .

"It's my turn," Yusei stated drawing his card. "First I use the effect of Speed World 2. Now by removing seven of my speed counters, I can draw an extra card. Next, to extend the effect of Stay Force, I will pay 1000 life points. Now, Majestic Star Dragon no longer has to leave the field. With that, I end my turn."

"It's my draw," Halldor declared drawing his card. "Now then, time to end this once and for all. That's right, Yusei, I know the prevailing wisdom has us all waiting for Monster Chain to expire but it's like I said, the best part of the duel is when the players take time to strategize. Well, I have strategized, Yusei, and now I'm ready to implement that strategy. So here it comes. Odin, I activate your special ability! Now the effect used by Monster Chain to stop Odin is negated."

"Then I play my Majestic Star Dragon's ability! As you well know Halldor, when you use Odin's ability, I can release Majestic Star Dragon and negate that ability," he retorted. "Then all the cards on your field are destroyed." All of Halldor's cards were destroyed as she stated.

"I'll now place a card face down and end my turn," Halldor declared. "Which means we're at the end phase and my Nordic Gods returns. So rise, Odin, Loki, and Thor!"

"You asked for it Halldor, I activate my trap, Wave Rebound!" Yusei declared.

"Tell me, Yusei, are you happy with your plan?" Halldor asked. "Because I am happy with it. In fact, I couldn't be happier, and do you know why?"

He turned. "I think you're about to show me," he replied.

"I activate a trap from my graveyard," Halldor declared.

"A trap from your graveyard?" Yusei repeated shocked and confused.

"That's correct. Gjallarhorn! This trap unleashes its effect only when six feet under, and it's quite the effect," Halldor stated. The card activated and a person came from within it blowing a horn. "Do you hear that, Yusei? That's the sound of your complete and utter destruction! That's the sound of victory and it's getting louder. Yusei, prepare to feel the full wrath of the Nordic gods!" He calmed himself down. "Sorry, Yusei, but due to Gjallarhorn, your Wave Rebound won't be making any waves at all. You see, Gjallarhorn puts a stop to any effect that negates the revival of my Nordic gods. But there's more, at the end of my third turn, all the monsters I have on my field are removed from play and you get hit with a total of their attack points."

"No way," he muttered.

. . .

"That means at the end phase of every turn, the three Nordic gods will return to the battlefield. Guess, Gjallarhorn really does sound the alarm for Yusei," Bruno stated.

"Especially if you add up the attack points of those three gods," Jack added. "Yusei could be taking over ten thousand points of direct damage."

Crow gave a worried whimper. "This is just awful! Yusei just went from the guy to beat to the guy _getting_ beat!" he exclaimed.

"No joke," Akiza agreed. "Just look…"

. . .

"Now, then since Thor has returned, you take 800 points of damage," Halldor stated and Yusei's life points fell to 1200. "And since Loki has returned, I can add one trap card from my graveyard to my hand. And as you can see, the card I've selected is the trap Odin's Eye! You know what that means!" Yusei tensed as he watched the card. "Next, thanks to Odin's special ability, I get to draw one card from my deck." He looked at it. "Ah, very nice." He placed it in his hand. "Now, I'll end my turn and since I have, Gjallorhorn's counter becomes one." The counter was placed. "A counter that is the count _down_ to your demise, Yusei. Especially since at this very moment, the effect of your monster chain trap is snapped! Your move, Yusei, perhaps your last."


	29. In the Fight

**A/N: I DO NOT OWN ANY OF YU GI OH 5Ds! ALL RIGHTS GO TO THE CREATORS! THE ONLY THING I OWN ARE MY OCS!**

Chapter 29: In the Fight

' _As long as Halldor has Odin's Eye out, he'll be able to see my cards and right through my strategy. But wait…'_ he thought.

 **~Flashback~**

"Yusei, when a god is on the field, nothing can negate the gaze of Odin's Eye and since that's the case, it activates," Halldor declared. "Now once per turn, by negating the special abilities of my gods, I am able to look at a card in your hand or on your field."

 **~Flashback Ended~**

' _Maybe I can use that to my advantage!'_ he thought. _'After all, what you see isn't always what you get.'_

"My turn!" Yusei declared drawing his card. "And first I'm summoning Stardust Phantom (Attack 0/ Defense 0)! When Phantom is destroyed and sent to the graveyard, I can summon Stardust Dragon from my grave in defense mode. Furthermore, if I remove Stardust Phantom from play, I can then lower Stardust Dragon's defense points by 800 and make it invincible any attacks you dare throw its way. I then end my turn with a face down."

"I see what you're planning. I'll even break it down for you step by step," Halldor stated. "Since Phantom's ability activates form the graveyard, Thor won't be able to negate it. Then, if my three Nordic gods attack, you would simply be able to revive Stardust Dragon from your graveyard and be able to survive the onslaught due to his hardy defense. In fact, thanks to Stardust Phantom's ability, you can survive my gods' attacks three times and still keep Stardust Dragon."

"That's right," he responded.

"However, you forgot one thing, it's my turn, and my speed counter is up to ten!" Halldor reminded and drew his card. "And that means I can activate Speed World 2's effect now. So by removing ten speed counters, I can destroy one card on the field. The card that I choose to destroy is that Phantom!"

"And since you have, Phantom's ability now activates, so what happens next is just as you called it. I can summon Stardust Dragon from graveyard," Yusei declared and, as said, Stardust Dragon took to the field.

"Now Thor, attack!" Halldor ordered.

Thor made his way and Yusei immediately reacted, "I play Phantom's second ability, just as you predicted. By removing phantom from play and lowering Stardust's defense by 800, he can't be destroyed in battle (Stardust Dragon: Defense 1200)!"

"Now your turn, Loki. Go, Vanity Blast!" Halldor ordered. The attack was sent.

"Once again, I activate Phantom's ability (Stardust Dragon: Defense 400)," she defended.

"And that's the last time you will, Yusei," Halldor stated. "Don't you see? Stardust Dragon doesn't have enough attack points to save himself and stick around. You were one move short due to my speed counters." Yusei tensed slightly. "And now, blast that Stardust Dragon off the field, Odin! Go Sacred Scepter Slash!"

As the attack neared, Yusei called, "I play Stronghold Guardian! Since my monster in defense mode has been attacked, by banishing Stronghold, Stardust Dragon gains 1500 defense points until this turn's end phase (Stardust Dragon: Defense 1900). Now Phantom, activate your ability!" The attack was avoided and he told his dragon, "Thanks for taking some shots for the team, Stardust."

"Well, I have to admit to you, Yusei, I am ever so impressed with how resourceful you have become. You have been down so many times but never quite out. But that will all change. I summon Jormungardr the Nordic Serpent (Attack 3000/ Defense 3000) to your field!" Halldor declared.

"My field?" he questioned. The long serpent wound around Yusei like a circular wall made of a somewhat living being. "What's going on?"

"I'll tell you what's going on here, Yusei. When a god is on my field, I can summon Jormungardr from my hand to your field in defense mode. Then if Jormungardr switches to attack mode, you take 3000 points of damage," Halldor explained. "Next I activate my face down. Gleipnir, the Fetters of Fenrir! Due to Gleipnir, when a god is on my field, I can add Fenrir the Nordic Wolf from my deck to my hand. And then, again, thanks to the gods, I can summon Fenrir from my hand to your field in defense mode and I'm not just crying wolf! Rise, my pet! Now when your turn's battle phase begins, Fenrir switches all monsters on your side of the field in defense to attack mode. Also, from this point on both players take damage from any battle involving Fenrir."

"Say what?!" Yusei exclaimed.

. . .

Back at the pit, Bruno stated, "That is one tough card combo."

"Wait, how's this a combo?" Leo asked.

"Because, Leo, during the battle phase of Yusei's next turn, Fenrir forces monsters from defense to offense which means that… which means that Jormungardr switches to offense and Yusei takes 3000 points of damage!" Jack exclaimed.

"What?" Leo asked shocked.

"Oh no," Luna muttered.

. . .

"Next I place one card face down and end my turn," Halldor declared. "And since I have, Gjallarhorn's counter becomes two."

' _The card Halldor just placed face down has to be Odin's Eye,'_ Yusei thought. Halldor gave a small smirk. _'I'll have to play this carefully.'_ He drew his card. "I play the trap, Hope for Escape! Now since I have less life points that you Halldor, by getting rid of 1000 of them, I'm now allowed to draw one card for every 1000 point difference in our life points." Yusei's life points dropped to 200. "And since the difference between us is more than 3000, I'm allowed to draw 3 cards from my deck. I summon Life Gardna (Attack 0/ Defense 800)! And with that done, I'm now going to summon a monster simply by removing one I already have from play. So now Jormungardr make way for Different Dimension Sprite (Attack 0/ Defense 100)!"

"But wait…" Halldor responded realizing his combo was gone.

"Different Dimension Sprite, now rise and tune with Life Gardna! Behold as both power and speed surge towards each other to create the synchro, the tuner, the mighty Formula Synchron (Attack 200/ Defense 1500)!" he declared.

"A synchro tuner?" Halldor asked.

"Next I play Life Gardna's ability. Because Life Gardna was used to synchro summon, I now get 800 life points," Yusei declared and his life points sprinted to 1000. "Now I'll play Formula Synchron's ability. With it, I'm allowed to draw one extra card from my deck every turn." He put a hand on his deck and thought, _'The key to winning this now isn't just skill, it's speed.'_ He drew and looked at the card. "And I just got a whole bunch of it! Let's rev it up!" he exclaimed as the wind that angled off his duel runner glowed and he moved faster than the wind. "I tune my level two Formula Synchron with my level eight Stardust Dragon! Let the spirit of all duel monsters now spread its wings and soar to new heights, where it can be transformed by the wings of destiny, where it can become all powerful! Go Accel Synchro!" Yusei vanished from sight.

"What in the world?!" Halldor exclaimed in shock.

A pulse wave was sent from behind him and Yusei appeared while exclaiming, "Appear, Shooting Star Dragon (Attack 3300/ Defense 2500)!"

"Shooting Star Dragon?" Halldor repeated a bit worried. "That's Yusei's most ultimate monster."

"Now from my hand, I'm playing the Speed Spell- Star Force!" Yusei declared. "With this card, so long as I have four or more speed counters, I can remove one monster on my field from play. And then, I can give one monster on my field a super charged power up until this turn's end phase. So the monster I'm removing is Fenrir!" Fenrir was immediately destroyed and he continued, "And since Fenrir was level ten, I get to power up my Shooting Star Dragon by 1000 (Shooting Star Dragon: Attack 4300)!"

"4300 attack points? This could pose a problem," Halldor stated.

"A bigger problem than you realize, Halldor," Yusei retorted, "Because now Shooting Star Dragon's ability activates which means I get to check the top five cards on my deck for tuner monsters." He looked at them. "I have three, and I'm afraid for you that means I'm allowed to wage three separate attacks. Now then, let's get to it! Shooting Star Dragon attack!" His monster split into three clones of itself and each attacked and destroyed the three godly monsters and dropped Halldor's life points to 1900.

"You will pay for that, Yusei," Halldor growled. "Like a bug on my duel runner windshield, you just keep hanging on; refusing to accept that sooner or later, you're going to hit the pavement."

"The only thing hitting the pavement are these two face downs," he responded calmly as he set them in place.

"Which means it is the end phase of this turn and because it is, guess who's back," Halldor retorted. Each Nordic god returned to the field. "That's right, Thor has returned, which means you take 800 points of damage." Yusei's life points fell to 200 again as the pain in his chest grew worse than before.

. . .

"Yusei!" Luna called.

"All that real damage is really putting a number on him," Jack commented. "He needs to find a way to win fast."

"Yeah, but with all that going at him now, will he even be able to duel Team New World?" Akiza asked.

"Yusei's beyond tough, Akiza. You know that," Crow assured. "So he'll be able to fight Team New World when the time comes. He has to be."

. . .

"And now Loki is back, meaning I can add one trap card from my graveyard to my hand. And as you can see, the trap card I've selected is God Shackles Gleipnir. And finally Odin returns to the field allowing me draw one card from my deck. But that's not the end of it. Don't forget, now that we're at the turn's end phase your dragon's attack points return to normal (Shooting Star Dragon: Attack 3300). And now it's my turn!" He drew his card.

"Bring it on, Halldor!" Yusei challenged.

"Aren't you peppy for someone who is about to lose?" the Aesir responded.

"If I lose, at least I'll know I did everything I could to win," the Jedi replied.

"Oh, please. That's the way failures speak. But I suppose that fits because you have failed," Halldor argued. "And now I'm going to make it official. Then, at long last, all of the world will recognize something as an enclad fact. And that is, the Nordic gods can defeat all who oppose them, even your fledgeling synchros. Observe, I summon Tyr of the Nordic Champions (Attack 2000/ Defense 2000)! Next I activate the trap card, Odin's Eye!" He smirked. "Remember, Yusei, you can't negate the activation of Odin's Eye when a god is on the field. Of course, I have to negate my gods' abilities in order to use Odin's Eye, but that's a small price to pay. Next up, I play Tyr's ability! Now by releasing Tyr, any attacks you were thinking of throwing my way won't do my gods any harm. In other words, the penalty that comes to use Odin's Eye is now gone. Now, then, by the divine power of Odin's Eye, let's see that face down!"

As it was about to be revealed, Yusei called stopping it, "Just what I was hoping for! I activate my trap, Trick Mirror! Due to this card, when your trap activates, I can activate its effect as though it was my own. And the trap effect that I'll be taking is that of Odin's Eye!"

"Oh no!" Halldor exclaimed shocked.

"And this means your gods' abilities are negated once more," Yusei added.

"Fine, what's it matter?" Halldor retorted. "Even without his ability, Odin has 4000 attack points which is more than enough to take down your Shooting Star Dragon. But don't take my word for it. See for yourself! Odin, attack!"

"I play Shooting Star Dragon's ability!" Yusei defended. "Now by removing Shooting Star Dragon from play during your turn, the attack of one of your monsters is negated." His dragon vanished.

"So what? Your field is now empty, Yusei. I'll just have one of my other two gods attack you now," Halldor responded confidently.

The Signer smirked. "I play the trap, Zero Force! Now, Halldor, due to this force, because my monster left the field, your three Nordic Gods are about to lose all the power and might they each possess," he fought.

"That can't be!" Halldor exclaimed but Thor, Loki, and Odin's attack points dropped to zero. "But if they're points are zero, they can no longer attack!"

"And don't forget, at the end phase of this turn, the effect of your Gjallarhorn trap activates. And that means all monsters on your field will be removed from play and that I get damaged with the combined attack points of those monsters. However, since the attack points of your three gods now total just zero, I won't be taking any damage at all," Yusei added.

"No way…" Halldor muttered shocked.

"And now that we've reached this turn's end phase, Shooting Star Dragon rises again (Attack 3300/ Defense 3000)," the Signer continued. "And with his rise comes your fall! Now go, Shooting Star! Attack!" The attack succeeded and Halldor's life points fell to zero.

Yusei and Halldor looked at each other and nodded in respect before the Signer drove off to meet with his friends. When he was back, Yusei nodded at his while the others congratulated him.

"We're not finished, yet though," Yusei stated. "There's still Team New World, or better known as Yliaster, to deal with if we want to save the world."

"We'll win this," Crow stated. "I'm positive."

They all nodded. "This won't be an easy duel. After all, it is more than likely we'll end up facing real damage again," Yusei added. "And with the Meklord Emperors having those abilities of theirs… We need to be ready for anything." They nodded again in acceptance.


	30. Two Down

**A/N: I DO NOT OWN ANY OF YU GI OH 5Ds! ALL RIGHTS GO TO THE CREATORS! THE ONLY THING I OWN ARE MY OCS!**

Chapter 30: Two Down

Jack took off like a bullet against Lester who was on his duel board. The audience laughed at the duel board he was riding, but Jack wasn't and neither was his team. This duel would be no laughing matter.

Jack ended up gaining the first turn. "I summon Dark Resonator (Attack 1300/ Defense 300) in defense mode. I then set three cards face down and end my turn," he declared.

Lester drew his card. "I summon Sky Core (Attack 0/ Defense 0) in defense position and also set three face downs. That ends my turn," he near copied.

Jack drew his card to begin his next turn. "I activate my face down Dimension Switch! This removes Dark Resonator from play. And since you have monsters on your field and I don't, I can special summon Gear Changer (Attack 1500/ Defense 700) in attack mode. And then I can activate its effect to increase its level by the level of your Sky Core (Gear Changer: Level 5). Now I send Dimension Switch to the graveyard to return Dark Resonator to the field in defense position. With him back, I tune Gear Changer with Dark Resonator to synchro summon. Show your might, Red Dragon Archfiend (Attack 3000/ Defense 2000)!" he called. "Now I normal summon Trust Guardian (Attack 0/ Defense 800). Next I can special summon Red Nova (Attack 0/ Defense 0) in attack mode since I control Red Dragon Archfiend. And then I will double tune Red Dragon Archfiend with Trust Guardian and Red Nova. Rise, Red Nova Dragon (Attack 3500/ Defense 3000)! And due to its effect, Red Nova Dragon gains 500 attack for each tuner monster in my graveyard. And there are three currently, meaning he gains 1500 attack points (Red Nova Dragon: Attack 5000). Red Nova Dragon, attack Sky Core!"

"I activate Twin Vortex! This destroys Sky Core and your dragon," Lester played.

"Well due to Red Nova Dragon's effect, it can't be destroyed by your card effects," Jack retorted meaning only Sky Core was destroyed.

"Well, since Sky Core was destroyed by card effect, it's effect activates which allows me to summon Meklord Emperor Skiel (Attack 0/ Defense 0) in attack mode, Skiel Top (Attack 600/ Defense 0) in attack mode, Skiel Attack (Attack 1000/ Defense 0) in attack mode, Skiel Guard (Attack 200/ Defense 300) in defense mode, and Skiel Carrier (Attack 400/ Defense 0) in attack mode. And due to the effect of Meklord Emperor Skiel, they will combine to create an even stronger monster (Attack 2200/ Defense 0)," Lester declared.

"Red Nova Dragon, attack Meklord Emperor Skiel!" Jack ordered.

"I activate the effect of Skiel Guard to negate the attack," Lester defended.

"I activate Power Pressure! Since a monster's attack was negated, I can deal you 1000 points of damage," the Signer fought.

"I activate Infinite Aura! This gains one Aura Counter for every 100 points of damage I take. And since I took 1000, it gains 10 counters (Aura Counters: 10)," the smallest Emperor played as his life points fell to 3000.

"I end my turn," Jack finished.

Lester drew. "I activate Meklord Emperor Skiel's effect to equip itself with Red Nova Dragon," he declared.

"I activate Red Nova Dragon's effect! It removes it from place and allows me to negate one attack this turn," Jack played.

"I set a card and end my turn," Lester finished.

"And since you've ended your turn, Red Nova Dragon returns!" Jack responded as his dragon rose up at a full 5000 attack. He drew his card. "I summon Force Resonator (Attack 500/ Defense 500) in attack mode. Now I activate the effect of Force Resonator. By sending it to the graveyard, I can prevent you from activating card effects that target Red Nova Dragon when it attacks this turn. Added, Red Nova Dragon gains an additional 500 points (Red Nova Dragon: Attack 5500)! Red Nova Dragon, attack Meklord Emperor Skiel!"

"I activate Infinite Prison! This takes Sky Core from my graveyard and sets it as a spell card by discarding Skiel Carrier 5," Lester fought.

Red Nova Dragon destroyed Meklord Emperor Skiel and the shrimp's life points fell to 0 while his Infinite Aura gained 30 more Counters making it a total of 40. And since Meklord Skiel Infinity had been removed from the field, all the other "Skiel" monsters were destroyed as well.

. . .

As Yusei watched Jack make the finishing blow, he couldn't help but worry. When he should've felt happy like the others that Jack had won, something didn't sit right with his win as Primo darted off to face Jack.

' _Jack defeated Lester way too easily,'_ Yusei thought, uncertain of what was going on.

. . .

Primo drew his card to begin his turn. "I summon Wise Core (Attack 0/ Defense 0) in defense position," he declared. "Next I activate the Speed Spell- Lightning Rod! This destroys Wise Core. And since Wise Core was destroyed, I can special summon Meklord Emperor Wisel Infinity (Attack 0/ Defense 0) in attack position, Wisel Top (Attack 500/ Defense 0) in attack position, Wisel Attack (Attack 1200/ Defense 0) in attack position, Wisel Guard (Attack 0/ Defense 1200) in defense position, and Wisel Carrier (Attack 800/ Defense 600) in attack position. And now due to Meklord Emperor Wisel Infinity's effect, they will all combine to create Meklord Emperor Wisel (Attack 2500/ Defense 0)! Now I activate the effect of Meklord Emperor Wisel to equip it with your Red Nova Dragon."

"I activate Red Nova's effect! It removes my dragon from play until the end phase and allows me to negate one attack this turn," Jack defended.

"I activate my face down, Infinity Barrage! This inflicts 400 points of damage to you for every monster you control," Primo played and Jack's life points fell to 2000. "I set two cards and end my turn."

"And since it is the end phase, Red Nova Dragon rises again, (Red Nova Dragon: Attack 5500/ Defense 3000)!" Jack called as his dragon returned. He drew his card. "Red Nova Dragon, attack Meklord Emperor Wisel Infinity!" Jack ordered.

"I activate Wisel Guard's effect to redirect the attack to it instead," Primo defended.

"I activate my face down, Burning Strike, and equip it to Red Nova Dragon. This card grants it the ability to inflict piercing damage," Jack fought.

"I activate Wise G3! By sending Wisel Guard to the graveyard, I can special summon Wisel Guard 3 (Attack 0/ Defense 2000) in defense position," Primo continued.

"Red Nova Dragon, attack Wisel Guard 3!" Jack ordered. Primo's monster wasn't destroyed due to its effect, but Red Nova still inflicted damage lowering Primo to 500 life points. Infinite Aura also activated giving its Aura Counters a total of 75.

"I activate Echo Mirror to draw a card and reveal it. If it's a monster, you will take damage equal to the monster's level times 300," Primo declared and drew his card. It ended up being level three Wisel Attack 3 and dropped Jack's life points down to 1100.

"I set a face down and end my turn," Jack declared.

" _Primo,"_ Jakob called over a secure line to Primo. _"What do you think you are doing? We need to stick to the plan."_

" _I will defeat Yusei before you need to bother,"_ Primo argued back.

" _5Ds is still confused as to what we're planning. We need to stick to the plan to ensure a win. If you go off on your own, we may end up losing. Stick with the plan, Primo,"_ Jakob ordered.

Primo growled in irritation submission. _"Right,"_ he agreed. _"Very well, I will stick with the plan."_ He turned back to the duel at hand. He drew his card to begin his turn. "I set two face downs and end my turn."

. . .

Leo then said in confusion, "Why didn't Primo counter or something? He must've had something to stop the attack."

"I don't know. It doesn't sit right," Yusei responded. "If I had to guess, it's most likely something to do with that Infinite Aura card. Both Lester and Primo seem to be losing life points on purpose to get counters on that thing. And I don't want to know what'll happen if they get enough counters on that thing."

"Then we need to destroy it before they can use its full effect," Crow stated.

"Right," Yusei agreed. "Leo, put out a warning card for Jack. Let him know that card needs to go."

"Right," Leo agreed and put it out.

. . .

As Jack drove, he got the message saying to destroy Infinite Aura. He then called, "I activate my face down, Synchro Sonic! Since I control at least one synchro monster, I can destroy Infinite Aura."

"I activate Infinite Guard Formation! By negating the effects of all the effect monsters I control, I can negate the effect of Synchro Sonic (Meklord Emperor Wisel: Attack 0)," Primo defended.

"Red Nova Dragon, attack Meklord Emperor Wisel!" Jack ordered. Primo's monsters and life points fell while Infinite Aura's Aura Counters increases to 80.

"I activate Infinite Prison! This takes Wise Core from my graveyard and sets it as a spell card by discarding Wisel Attack 3," Primo finished.

. . .

Yusei didn't like this. Whatever Jakob had planned, it wasn't going to be good. Especially since it seemed that their Infinite Aura card was going to be used soon. Too soon, and the Signer of the Head was more than worried of its effect.


	31. Meklord Emperor Granel

**A/N: I DO NOT OWN ANY OF YU GI OH 5Ds! ALL RIGHTS GO TO THE CREATORS! THE ONLY THING I OWN ARE MY OCS!**

Chapter 31: Meklord Emperor Granel

Jakob took to the field. "I summon Grand Core (Attack 0/ Defense 0) in defense mode and then activate Explosive Blast to destroy Grand Core and deal 400 points of damage to you," he declared and Jack's life points fell to 700. "And since Grand Core was destroyed by card effect and send to the graveyard, I can special summon Meklord Emperor Granel (Attack 0/ Defense 0) in attack position, Granel Top (Attack 500/ Defense 0) in attack position, Granel Attack (Attack 1300/ Defense 0) in attack position, Granel Guard (Attack 500/ Defense 1000) in defense position, and Granel Carrier (Attack 700/ Defense 700) in attack position. And due to its effect, my monsters will combine into one and its attack and defense points increase to become equal to my life points (Meklord Emperor Granel: Attack 4000/ Defense 4000). And then I activate Speed Spell- Takeover to destroy Infinite Aura. By destroying that card, I can life points equal to the total number of counters it had times 100." Jakob's life points increased to 12000, as did Meklord Emperor Granel's attack and defense. "I set a card face down. Now, Meklord Emperor Granel, attack Red Nova Dragon!"

"I activate Red Nova Dragon's effect to remove it from play and allow me to negate one attack," Jack defended.

"I activate Granel Top's effect, which negates your dragon's effect until the end phase," Jakob fought and the blast hit, destroying Jack's monster and Jack's life points. "And since Granel destroyed a synchro monster in battle, I activate Granel Attack's effect to take Red Nova Dragon from the graveyard and equip it to Meklord Emperor Granel. And now due to the effect of Meklord Emperor Granel, it gains attack equal to the attack of Red Nova Dragon (Meklord Emperor Granel: Attack 15500)."

Jack came in badly hurt from the final assault. Yusei called to Crow, "Be careful, Crow. Do not take this duel lightly at all."

"Right," Crow agreed and took off.

Jack winced a bit as Yusei helped him, but didn't show too much pain. Yusei was quick to have Akiza bring him to the clinic to get his injuries checked on.

They then turned to the duel. It was Crow's turn to duel and the odds were not good whatsoever. Team 5Ds were not ready to feel at all like they were going to win with Jakob's Meklord Emperor Granel hosting a total of 15,500 attack points.

' _And I had thought Paradox's Malefic Truth Dragon was powerful, but this is a whole different level. Especially since it can also take synchro monsters from the graveyard if they were destroyed by battle and Granel Top can negate a monster's effect,'_ Yusei thought. _'Crow, be careful.'_

Crow drew his card. "I activate the effect of Speed World 2! By removing ten speed counters, I can destroy your Meklord Emperor Granel," he declared.

"I activate my face down, Infinity Wall. This negates all card effects that would destroy any cards I control this turn," Jack defended.

"Well then, I summon Blackwing- Steam the Cloaked (Attack 800/ Defense 1200) in attack mode. And since I control a Blackwing monster, I can special summon Blackwing- Bora the Spear (Attack 1700/ Defense 800) from my hand in attack mode," Crow responded. "I then remove my turn monsters from play to special summon Blackwing- Aurora the Northern Lights (Attack 0/ Defense 0) from my hand with its effect. And due to its effect, its level becomes the combined levels of the two removed monsters (Blackwing- Aurora the Northern Lights: Level 7). And since Steam the Cloaked left the fields, its effect activates, special summon Steam Token (Attack 100/ Defense 100) in attack mode. Now with the second effect of Aurora, I can remove from play Blackwing Armor Master from my extra deck to make the attack and effects of Aurora the Northen Lights as Blackwing Armor Master until my next Standby Phase (Blackwing- Aurora the Northern Lights: Attack 2500).' Crow then thought, _'By attacking Meklord Emperor Granel with Aurora, I can place a Wedge Counter on Meklord Emperor Granel at the end of the the damage step. I could then remove the counter to reduce the attack of Meklord Emperor Granel to 0. That would activate the effect of my Steam Token, which will remove Meklord Emperor Granel from play and destroying all the parts of his monster.'_ He then ordered. Aurora, attack Meklord Emperor Granel!"

"I activate the effect of Granel Guard! This treats the Red Nova Dragon (Attack 3500/ Defense 3000) equipped to Granel as a face up attack position monster in the Spell and Trap Card Zone during the damage step only and changing the attack target to it," Jakob defended.

Due to the effects granted to Aurora from Blackwing Armor Master, it wasn't destroyed and Crow took no battle damage. At the end of the damage step, the Wedge counter was about to be placed on Red Nova Dragon, but the dragon became an equip card again and the counter was void.

"I set two face downs and end my turn," Crow finished and Steam Token destroyed itself due to its own effect.

Jakob drew his card. "I activate the effect of Speed World 2! By removing ten speed counters, I can destroy your Aurora the Northern Lights," he declared and Crow's monster shattered. "Meklord Emperor Granel, attack him directly!"

"I special summon Blackwing Ghibli the Searing Wind (Attack 0/ Defense 1600) from my hand in defense position," Crow defended.

"Well, then, Meklord Emperor Granel, destroy his Blackwing- Ghibli the Searing Wind!" Jakob fought.

"As a Winged-beast monster with 1000 or less attack points was destroyed in battle and sent to the graveyard, I can activate my face down, Black Wing Revenge! This allows me to special summon two Blackwing- Black Crest Tokens (Attack 0/ Defense 800) in defense position. And then I activate my other face down, Blackboost to draw two cards as I control at least two Blackwing Monsters," Crow responded.

"I activate the effect of Granel Attack! This treats Red Nova Dragon equipped to my Meklord Emperor as an attack position monster during the battle phase only and also allows Red Nova Dragon to inflict piercing damage, though it can't attack directly. So, Red Nova Dragon, attack one of those Black Crest Tokens!" Red Nova Dragon attacked and destroyed one of Crow's monsters and Crow's life points fell to 1300. "I set a face down and end my turn."

Crow drew his card. "I tribute my Black Crest Token to tribute summon. Rise up, Blackwing- Hillen the Tengu-wind (Attack 0/ Defense 2300) in defense mode," he declared. "I set two face downs and end my turn."

Jakob drew his card. "I activate Granel Attack's effect once again and target Red Nova Dragon for it. Red Nova Dragon, attack Hillen the Tengu-wind!" he ordered. The attacked destroyed Crow's monster and dropped Crow to 100 life points. "Meklord Emperor Granel, attack his directly!"

The attack hit and Crow's life points fell to zero, but Crow called, "I activate Blackwing- Hillen the Tengu-wind's effect to revive itself (Attack 0/ Defense 2300) and Blackwing- Ghibli the Searing Wind (Attack 0/ Defense 1600) in attack position. Then I activate my face down Urgent Tuning to tune Ghibli with Hillen to synchro summon a synchro monster in defense mode. Soar, Black-Winged Dragon (Attack 2800/ Defense 1600)!"

Due to the rules of the World Racing Grand Prix, it immediately went to Jakob's end phase meaning Red Nova Dragon became an equip card again. Crow passed the baton to Yusei, but said before he could take off, "Yusei, be careful." Yusei nodded in reassured before taking off while Crow escorted to the clinic immediately as his injuries were getting the better of him.

' _This ends in this duel,'_ Yusei thought determined.


	32. Past and Future in One

**A/N: I DO NOT OWN ANY OF YU GI OH 5Ds! ALL RIGHTS GO TO THE CREATORS! THE ONLY THING I OWN ARE MY OCS!**

Chapter 32: Past and Future in One

"With both teams down to their last duelists, the World Racing Grand Prix final is reaching its climax," the MC called.

' _Why did Crow leave Yusei a synchro monster? Since it's a synchro, it will just become food for my Meklord Emperor Granel and Yusei will be sent to hell,'_ Jakob thought.

"Crow's move is foolish," Lester mocked over the com.

"Ignore Lester, Jakob, and focus on Yusei. Yusei is the real threat," Primo told their leader.

"You're overestimating Yusei," Lester commented.

. . .

In the booth with Team 5Ds, Akiza wondered, "Why would Crow summon Black-Winged Dragon?"

"I'm not sure, after what happened to Red Nova Dragon," Bruno answered. "If Black-Winged Dragon is also absorbed by that thing, it will all be over."

. . .

Crow was placed in an infirmary with Jack and Trudge looking at Yusei through the television.

"I hope Yusei uses his card well," Trudge commented.

. . .

' _I know why Crow left Black-Winged Dragon to me. Throughout all the hardship we've experienced in this tournament, we didn't fight with our individual decks. We fought using three decks,'_ Yusei thought on the duel field. With her at 4000 life points and Jakob at 12,000, he drew his card to begin his turn. "I summon Wave Wall (Attack 0/ Defense 2000) in defense mode. I then set two cards face down and end my turn," he declared. He looked at Crow's dragon. _'You can count on me, Crow.'_

"Though you know the path of their destruction, you still think you can win with synchro monsters. You're pitiful and I will make you disappear," Jakob comments and drew his card. "Meklord Emperor Granel, attack Black-Winged Dragon!"

"I activate the effect of Wave Wall! Since I control a synchro monster, I can negate your attack," Yusei defended. "And let's not forget, since Granel is five monsters being treated as one, it can only attack once."

"Since my Meklord Emperor monster didn't destroy your monster that it attacked by battle, I can activate this: Attack Cannon! So by releasing Granel Attack, I can destroy your pathetic synchro," Jakob fought.

"I activate another card Crow left for me. Shadow Impulse! With this, I am able to summon a synchro from my extra deck with the same level and type as the synchro monster just destroyed, but its attack becomes zero and its effects are negated," Yusei retorted. "And I choose Stardust Dragon (Attack 0/ Defense 2000)."

"Don't get too conceited for surviving the attack. Your bonds are to be destroyed by Granel anyway; or if not by Granel, then by the parasite like machinery in your chest," Jakob told the Signer. Yusei gave him a warning stare. "Regardless of how much it struggles, an ant cannot defeat an elephant. An elephant will not recognize a small existence like an ant passing by. Team New World are the elephants trying to change history, while you, Team 5Ds, are just ants who can do nothing but pass by." Yusei's features turned into a full force glare. "I summon Granel Attack 3 (Attack 1800/ Defense 0). Now since I have four speed counters, I activate the Speed Spell- Silent Burn! This inflicts 300 points of damage to you for each monster that didn't attack. Feel the power of an elephant!" Yusei's life points fell to 2800 and he swerved a bit from the force of the assault, but regained control. "Had you crashed there, you would have spared yourself further pain that awaits you. I set one face down and end my turn."

"I'm not going to give up my fight against you trying to change history. I'll keep fighting no matter what," Yusei vowed.

"That is foolishness as far as I'm concerned. There is no hope for you. I will show you what the future is like," Jakob told him. The Infinity symbol on Jakob's mouth cover lit up and a larger infinity symbol appeared in the sky while the Signers' Marks of the Dragon all lit up as well.

. . .

"Why is Jakob showing them that?" Lester asked shocked.

"Jakob, stop now!" Primo ordered.

The symbol in the sky activated and Team 5Ds' minds are transported elsewhere.

. . . .

Team 5Ds found themselves on what appeared to be another world. "Where are we?" Leo wondered.

"I don't know," Akiza responded.

"I've seen this scene before…" Yusei muttered. They looked below them to see Duel Monsters sealed in stone slabs in a red wasteland.

"This looks like a graveyard," Jack commented.

Suddenly, Akiza spotted something. "Hey! Is that…?" she stopped as they saw the rings from the center of New Domino's bridge network.

' _This has to be a lie,'_ Yusei thought, trying to convince himself.

Primo, Jakob, and Lester then appeared before them. "You shall be shown the truth of the future," Jakob told them.

"Is this the future of New Domino?" Yusei asked.

"It all began with synchro summons," Jakob informed as the scenery changed to a few years previous. At the appearing time, the city was brighter and in working order. There were a number of floating structures above the city; a number of turbo duelists shown on a road all synchro summoning; in an arena for ground dueling, a hologram of a cowgirl held up Naturia Leodrake while other duelists all around her raised their synchro monsters too. "Both the world and dueling had evolved and people became more obsessed with dueling. Synchro summoned even became a synchro for this town." Duel Academy was show where a teacher was explaining synchro by pointing to a projection showing Plaguespreader Zombie and Marauding Captain being used to synchro summon Ally of Justice Catastor. "At this time, duel runners and synchro summons grew rapidly, both of which were linked to Ener-D. The Ener-D's rotation speed continually increased as the world evolved, but the evolution was too quick."

Lester laughed. "The evolution was indeed incredible," he stated and kept laughing.

"Shut up," Primo ordered the younger member.

Suddenly, an army of Meklord Emperors appeared and the people in the city all looked up in surprise. But the Meklord Emperors then started attacking and destroying the city. Leo pointed below to where Lester was visible, running with his mother and father.

"That is my memory of this age," Lester told them. Below Lester and his parents were struck by a blast from one of the emperors. Lester survived, but his parents were killed.

The scenery then changed slightly and Primo said, "This is my memory." In the memory, Primo was with a girl inside a destroyed building, both of them armed. After a Meklord Emperor Granel passed, they both shot at it, doing some damage. They looked at each other in triumph, but then the building is shot at the girl is killed. Primo cried out loud and the Meklord Emperor appeared in front of him and the man shot at the robot in anger while Team 5Ds watched in horror.

"The greed of humanity had finally reached its peak," Jakob explained. "At that time, the Ener-D suddenly became uncontrollable as it reacted to the greed. The Ener-D went berserk and caused explosions all across the world."

"No way! Ener-D wouldn't go out of control again," Yusei refused to believe.

"I am telling the truth. I will show you my memory of the world that had been destroyed by humanity's foolishness," Jakob stated as the scenery shifted in a destroyed world. The visionary Jakob was dressed in rags and walking through the destroyed city, devoid of any other people. The present day Jakob continued, "I was the chosen one, although I didn't know if it was through luck or misfortune. As the only survivor, I wandered around, but nobody could hear my voice."

' _This isn't the future. No one would allow it,'_ Yusei thought.

. . .

Team 5Ds all snapped out of the vision as they appeared back in present day. "Will synchro summoning really lead to that world?" Yusei wondered quietly. "No, it won't. I won't believe it will."

"Are you trying to escape fate?" Jakob asked.

"You're lying about synchro summoning causing that future. I know you are," he accused.

"That kind of ignorance is what led to the destruction," Jakob commented.

"We can decide the fate of the future ourselves," Yusei told him sternly. He drew his card to continue the duel. "First I summon Mono Synchron (Attack 0/ Defense 0) and use its effect to change the level of Wave Wall to 1. Now I tune Wave Wall with Mono Synchron. Clustering hope will open the new speed's horizon. Become the path its light shines upon. Synchro summon! The power of hope, synchro tuner, Formula Synchron (Attack 200/ Defense 1500). Our bonds will open the path to a better future. I tune Stardust Dragon with Formula Synchron. Clustering dreams and hopes will open the door onto evolution. Become the path its light shines upon. Accel synchro!" He disappeared for a moment before appeared again after a pulse wave. "Be born, Shooting Star Dragon (Attack 3300/ Defense 2500)! Next I activate Shooting Star Dragon's effect. With it I can check the top five cards on my deck for tuner monster and then shuffle it. And for every tuner monster I draw, I can attack one time." The full Mark of the Crimson Dragon appeared on his back and he drew the cards. He revealed them and saw he drew all five. "I drew five, Jakob. And that means I can attack five times." Shooting Star Dragon attack Granel Attack 3 to start.

"I use the effect of Granel Guard to redirect the attack to Red Nova Dragon. And since Red Nova Dragon has 3300 attack points, it will destroy your monster," Jakob played.

"Not quite, I activate Synchro Striker Unit! This raises its attack to 4300," Yusei fought.

"Due to Granel Carrier's effect, I can prevent Red Dragon Archfiend from being destroyed once per turn," Jakob defended but he still took damage and his life points were lowered to 11,200 and the attack of Meklord Emperor Granel became 14,700.

The second Shooting Star Dragon attacked Red Nova Dragon, destroying it. Both Jakob's life points and the attack of Granel fell to 10,400. The third attacked Granel Attack 3 and the fourth went at Granel Top dropping the opposing team's member to 4100. And the final Shooting Star Dragon attacked Meklord Emperor Granel Infinity destroying it along with Granel Guard and Granel Carrier while leaving Jakob's life points with 3900.

"I set two face downs and end my turn," Yusei finished while the effect of Synchro Striker Unit caused Shooting Star Dragon to lose 800 attack points, lowering it to 3500. He sped ahead so his duel runner was beside Jakob's. "This is our power towards the future. Synchro summon and Accel Synchro summon have stopped Yliaster's ambitions."

"Are you sure you wish to see my future that badly?" Jakob asked. "Thanks to you, my field is now reduced to burnt land." That reminded Yusei of the wasteland from the future vision. "Not to worry." Lester and Primo quickly joined him. "Aporia will fix that."

"Aporia? What is that?" the Jedi asked.

"Lester, Primo, and I are three beings that strive towards justice and bring hope into this world. The time has come for us to become one," Jakob explained vaguely. The infinity symbol over his mouth glowed followed by a larger one lighting up the sky again. Then the ones over Lester and Primo's eyes glowed as well. Jakob ejected and flew towards an infinity symbol.

Lester and Primo's bodies merge into Jakob's. His face now bore the three infinity symbols from Jakob's mouth, Primo's right eye, and Lester's left eye and form into a mask as the body changed form. As soon as the transformation was complete, the mask disappeared.

Yusei looked up in surprise as the new person came down while Lester's duel board and Primo's duel runner drove up alongside Jakob's duel runner. The three vehicles glowed and transformed before combining to create a new duel runner. The new person came down and parts of his body opened and revealed connection ports. An array of wires are sent from the duel runner and connected into the man and combined with his new vehicle and he fired his cards into their slots on the runner.

"Who are you?" Yusei asked in shock.

The new man opened his eyes and said, "I am Aporia, the Guardian of Despair."


	33. Despair Versus Hope- Part 1

**A/N: I DO NOT OWN ANY OF YU GI OH 5Ds! ALL RIGHTS GO TO THE CREATORS! THE ONLY THING I OWN ARE MY OCS!**

Chapter 33: Despair Versus Hope- Part 1

"Who are you?" Yusei asked in shock as he stared at the new duelist.

The new man opened his eyes and said, "I am Aporia, the Guardian of Despair. This is my true form. The Three Pure Nobles were separate aspects of a single being. You are as a duelist as he ascribed you to be. I had predicted that you would topple the Meklord Emperors, and with this, the Grand Design is now close to completion."

"What are you getting at?" Yusei asked.

Aporia ignored his opponent as he began his turn, "I activate Infinite Prison. By discarding Infinity Force, I can take Grand Core from my graveyard and set it as a spell card. I then use the second effect of Infinite Prison; By sending itself to the graveyard, I can take the cards set by its first effect and add them to my hand." Sky Core, Wise Core, and Grand Core were projected out of the Spell and Trap Card Zone and returned to Aporia's hand. "Total despair. A new power stronger than anything you have seen is about to descend. I activate Meklord Emperor Creation!" He threw the three Core cards into the air. "I am sending them to the graveyard to special summon my own ace monster: Meklord Astro Mekanikle (Attack 4000/ Defense 4000)!" In an instant, the Core cards combine and reform into the monster. It was a massive white and gold robot, which fired a beam into the sky causing lightning to appear and strike the city. "Heroes shall witness the power of Meklord Astro Mekanikle, the Devil of Despair! My monster can absorb a synchro monster once per turn, and increasing its attack by that of the absorbed synchro monster." Meklord Astro Mekanikle launched an array of beams at Shooting Star Dragon.

"I activate the effect of Shooting Star Dragon to remove itself from play," Yusei defended.

"I use another one of Mekanikle's effects. It can use the effect of any Meklord Emperor component I discard from my hand. I send Granel Guard 3, allowing Mekanikle to negate the activation of the effect of Shooting Star Dragon," Aporia fought and Yusei's monster was taken by Meklord Astro Mekanikle while the giant robot's attack rose to 7300.

' _Not good,'_ the Signer thought.

"I stand before you as the door to despair. You will come to understand the despair that I have tasted," Aporia told him. "If you haven't already while you were captured and being tortured. For myself, in order to fight that despair, I came to this era as three separate entities."

"What do you mean by that?" Yusei asked.

"The reason I broke off into the Three Pure Nobles, knowns as Jakob, Lester and Primo…" he trailed off before Yusei and the others found themselves back in the future visions.

. . .

They looked to see a dome below them with someone inside. The man looked like Jakob dressed in tattered clothing. "Why did this happen?" the man asked.

"Jakob," Yusei muttered. But she then realized the truth. "No, it's Aporia."

The vision Aporia dropped to his knees. "Is anyone there?"

The present day Aporia began to narrate, "I witnessed the point in history where humanity met its end. I had thought I was the lone survivor and trembled in despair. But then three survivors came up to me: Z-One, Paradox, and Antinomy." Z-One held out his hand to Aporia. "We are the last survivors of this world; and as the only ones who live, we have an important mission to fulfill." The four survivors gathered in a building. Z-One held out his hand next to a stone, causing it to stand. "Our mission was to dispose of the core power of Ener-D, which took out the world, in order to create hope for the future. The four of us father the remainder of that power and sought to find a solution, which could restore mankind and the ruined world. However, that turned out to be reckless and naïve thinking. We performed endless experiments until I was the one of my friends left alive." As he explained this Antinomy and Paradox were seen in capsules with Aporia standing over them and Z-One in a machine. "I had been left alone and powerless again." The vision changed so that now Aporia was in a capsule and Z-One looking over him.

The vision Aporia said, "There is no future here. Z-One, please listen to what I have to say. My soul exists as three embodiments of despair: First, the despair I suffered after I lost those who loved me; Second, the despair I suffered after losing the one I loved; And thirdly, the despair I suffered after having no one left to love. Using the power I possess, I plan to split my soul into these three embodiments of despair. Z-One, use me as your servant. I am confident you will bring back hope and the future."

"I promise to do so," Z-One vowed and Aporia died with that.

. . .

Team 5Ds then returned once again to the current time and location. "Following that, I was reborn as three embodiments of despair. Under the names Lester, Primo, and Jakob, I created Yliaster in order to keep the promise I made to my friends; to prevent the downfall of the future. For that purpose, I plan to eliminate all traces of New Domino City's history. By destroying the source of Ener-D, I will save the future. And I will achieve this through Team New World's victory over Team 5Ds, which will cause the city to perish and the future to change," Aporia finished.

"I don't think so," Yusei disagreed.

"Now that my three embodiments of despair have joined back into one entity, you have no chance of victory. Witness the extent of my power born from despair!" Aporia called and launched a number of beams from his body, which struck and destroyed parts of the city, including a portion of the turbo duel circuit in front of them. The two of them ramped off the broken circuit and onto the road below.

Yusei looked up to see the building high above. "The only way to stop it is to win the duel," he remarked quietly.

Aporia then said returning his attention to the duel, "Since I have absorbed Shooting Star Dragon, you have no hope left. All that is left is the black pit of despair for you to experience."

As they drove through the streets, Aporia's large duel runner smashed through parked cars, sending them flying and causing citizens to run for cover. _'I need to get somewhere void of citizens,'_ he thought.

"Mekanikle, attack Yusei directly!" Aporia ordered.

As the attack headed for him, Yusei spotted a young girl up ahead in the middle of the road, crying for her mother. "I activate Scrap-Iron Scarecrow to negate the attack!" he declared while pulling his duel runner to stop in front of the girl. Yusei told the girl, "Get out of here!" She didn't hesitate and once she was a safe distance away, Yusei hurried off. _'I need to lure Aporia into the old BAD area. There's no people to be harmed in that area,'_ he thought and lured Aporia onto the bridges.

"It is futile," Aporia stated. "I set a card. And when I end my turn, the effect of Mekanikle activates, sending the synchro monster I absorbed to the graveyard and you will be dealt with damage equal to the attack of the synchro monster. With you having 2800 and the attack of Shooting Star Dragon 3300, your demise is inevitable."

"I don't think so," Yusei argued. "This is why. I activate Wild Tornado! This destroys Shooting Star Dragon."

Aporia growled. "I end my turn," he finished.

Yusei drew his card to begin his turn. "I activate the effect of Speed World 2. By removing 7 speeed counters, I can draw one card." He drew it. "I summon Salvagent (Attack 300/ Defense 800)! But it's not staying for long. By releasing it, I can negate the effect of a synchro monster in my graveyard and special summon it in defense mode. So I call back, Shooting Star Dragon (Attack 3300/ Defense 2500)! And due to another effect of Salvagent, it is no longer treated as a synchro monster. With that, I end my turn with two face downs."

Aporia laughed. "You called out a synchro monster by throwing away its effects?" he mocked. "My victory in this duel will bring forth destruction and within that destruction lies the door to a new future."

"There is no way a new future can be born from destruction," Yusei retorted.

"I will prove that it can, through the history Yliaster has created with their own hands. Even if you will not be around to see it." Aporia pressed a button on his wrist as Yusei cried out as his chest shot up in pain.

. . .

"Yusei!" Leo called. Bruno did a quick scan. "What're you doing?"

"Scanning over the mechanical areas around the duel, which would include the parasite machine in Yusei's chest," Bruno explained. The results pulled up and showed that the cords were growing faster than normal, but still slow. "Did that Aporia just make those cords in Yusei's chest grow even more and faster?"

"If that's true, he doesn't have longer before those cords reach his heart and lungs," Akiza commented.

"You can't be serious," Luna responded. "If that's true…"

"Yusei needs to stop Aporia before those cords get too much farther," Bruno stated. "I can't see how close the cords are to the organs, but with how close they were to the heart and lungs before, I don't think he has very long before the cords reach them." They worriedly turned back to the duel where Yusei still seemed to be in immense pain.

. . .

Aporia drew his card. "I use the effect of Speed World 2 to remove 7 speed counters and draw one card, as well. I send Wisel Attack 5 to the graveyard to give its effect to Mekanikle. So my monster can now inflict piercing damage equal to double the difference."

"I still have… Scrap-Iron Scarecrow," Yusei reminded him, fighting with everything he could to continue the duel.

"That is useless. Since Wisel Attack 5 has an attack, it prevents the activation of my opponent's trap cards when it attacks," Aporia retorted. "What do you think of the taste of despair?" He then laughed maniacally. "I will emerge victorious next turn and the Grand Design will be complete. When that happens, the limitless amounts of Ener-D will be released and the Divine Temple will appear in order to guide New Domino. The destruction will lead to the start of a new future free of despair!"

' _What can I do to destroy Meklord Astro Mekanikle?'_ he thought.

"We shall go to a new future," Aporia bragged.

Jack and Crow came up and met with Yusei by the duel. "What're you doing here?" he asked knowing both Jack and Crow were still hurt to some extent.

"We've come to join you," Jack told him.

"We still have a battle to finish," Crow added.

"It's too dangerous with you still injured from losing to Jakob," Yusei argued.

"We don't care," Crow told him. "This burden doesn't just belong to you. We should be sharing it. Especially with what's going on with your chest right now." Yusei nodded slowly, trying not to grab his chest as the overwhelming pain continued.

' _Wait, I haven't used the card Jack left for me yet!'_ he realized. _'Since the cards contain the bonds between the three of us, I can't lose.'_


	34. Despair Versus Hope- Part 2

**A/N: I DO NOT OWN ANY OF YU GI OH 5Ds! ALL RIGHTS GO TO THE CREATORS! THE ONLY THING I OWN ARE MY OCS!**

Chapter 34: Despair Versus Hope- Part 2

"Meklord Astro Mekanikle, attack that Shooting Star Dragon! Cube of Despair!" Aporia ordered.

"I activate Scrap-Iron Scarecrow!" Yusei called.

"That move is useless as the effect of Wisel Attack 5 negates and destroys trap cards," Aporia stated and his card was destroyed, but that didn't faze Yusei.

"But you forget, you can only destroy one trap card," he reminded my opponent. "I activate the card Jack left for me, Revenge Twin Soul! By removing two synchro monsters in my graveyard from play, Shooting Star Dragon gains defense equal to their combined levels time 100. So I remove Red Nova Dragon and Black-Winged Dragon, giving Shooting Star Dragon 2000 more defense points (Shooting Star Dragon: Defense 4500). And if the attacking monster's attack is lower than the target monster's defense, the attacking monster is also destroyed." Shooting Star Dragon was hit by the blast and deflected it back at Mekanikle.

"I activate the effect of Mekanikle! By removing a Meklord Emperor component in my graveyard from play, I can negate its destruction," Aporia defended. "So I remove Granel Carrier." Mekanikle was saved but he still took damage dropping his life points to 3400. "I must admit, Yusei, you are stronger than I had thought. But resistance is futile. All will still be lost. I set a card face down and end my turn." And because of it, Revenge Twin Soul's effect wore off and returned Shooting Star Dragon's defense to 2500.

"It's time for a counterattack," Crow told Yusei.

Yusei nodded and drew his card. "First I activate the Speed Spell- Angel Baton! This allows me to draw two cards by sending one to the graveyard. And then I activate my face down, Dimension Voyage! This allows me to special summon as many of my removed from play synchro monsters as I can. So I call forth Red Nova Dragon and Black-Winged Dragon!" he declared and the dragons returned. "The turn those monsters are special special summoned, their effect is negated and cannot attack but are removed from play during the end phase."

"What are you planning to do with monsters that can't attack or use their effects?" Aporia wondered but Yusei ignored him.

"I switch Shooting Star Dragon to attack mode and activate Trust Chain! This allows me to increase the attack of Shooting Star Dragon by the total attack of all synchro monster I control, but prevents synchro monsters from attacking (Shooting Star Dragon: Attack 9600)," he continued.

"You've done it!" Jack exclaimed.

"Our bonds will bring us through despair," Crow added.

"No amount of despair can affect our bonds, which will carve a new future for ourselves," Yusei told them. "Shooting Star Dragon, attack Mekanikle!"

"Have you not realized yet that true despair cannot be beaten so easily?" Aporia asked him. "I activate Banishing Climb! It removes all synchro monsters from play." A hole cracked into the sky which sucked Red Nova Dragon and Black-Winged Dragon into it before it resealed itself. "And without them, your Shooting Star Dragon returns to 3300 attack points."

"I activate the other effect of Trust Chain! By sending it to the graveyard, I can end the battle phase and cancel the attack," Yusei defended and his dragon returned to his side.

Aporia growled. "And that means Banishing Climb's effect wears off as well returning your other pathetic synchro monsters to the field." His friends' other monsters returned to the field. "End your turn quickly, Yusei. How will you deal with true despair? Especially as your demise nears ever so slowly." He pressed the button again and Yusei cried out as the cords seemed to jump.

"Yusei!" Crow called with Jack.

Yusei finished, sounding strained as he panted through the pain, "I set a card face down… and end my turn."

"I activate the effect of Mekanikle to equip itself with Red Nova Dragon and gain its attack," Aporia declared and the monster was sucked into the machine while Meklord Astro Mekanikle's attack rose to 7500. "Next I send Granel Top 5 from my hand to the graveyard so my monster can gain its effects. And its effect allows me to absorb another synchro monster, like your Black-Winged Dragon!" Mekanikle's attack sprung up to 10,300. "Watch as I change the future! The victor is already decided. With 10,300 attack, one attack from Mekanikle is enough to end it all and the new future will be realized." He grinned confidently. "So, Mekanikle, attack Shooting Star Dragon!"

"I activate the effect of Guard Master!" Yusei played. "By removing it from my graveyard from play, I can change Shooting Star Dragon to defense mode and make it unable to be destroyed by battle." The attack is deflected from Shooting Star Dragon and hit a nearby building, damaging it.

"I activate another effect of Mekanikle! By sending a synchro monster equipped to it to the graveyard, I can inflict damage to you equal to the attack of that monster. So I send Red Nova Dragon to the graveyard (Meklord Astro Mekanikle: Attack 6800) and deal you 3500 points of damage!" Aporia fought

"I activate Hardship!" the Signer of the Head defended. "This lowers the attack and defense of Shooting Star Dragon to zero, but also lowers the effect damage inflicted by Mekanikle to zero."

"Then I shall use the effect of Mekanikle again, sending Black-Winged Dragon to the graveyard this time," Aporia declared.

' _Why would he do that? Hardship will only reduce the damage again,'_ he wondered. Black-Winged Dragon was sent to the graveyard lowering Aporia's monster back to 4000 attack points. "I activate Hardship once again to prevent that damage."

Once it resolved, though, Aporia called, "I activate Infinite Feast! This reequips Black-Winged Dragon and Red Nova Dragon to Mekanikle and inflicts 600 points of damage per monster to you for each time for each time Mekanikle has been equipped this turn."

"And since the two dragons were equipped during the Standby Phase and End Phase, Yusei will take 2400 points of damage," Jack calculated.

"I really wish Yusei had Black-Winged Dragon to negate that damage," Crow muttered.

"Eat this!" Aporia ordered angrily and the blast hit Yusei hard as his life points fell to 400. Yusei barely managed to regain control of his duel runner after the blast, the pain in his chest from before only worsening. "And now I gain another 600 life points." Aporia's life points returned to a full 4000. And with two synchro monsters equipped, Mekanikle was back to 10,300 attack points. "I end my turn there. Next turn will be when I settle anything."

' _With only 400 life points left, if I take any more damage I'll lose,'_ he thought worried.

"Don't hesitate, Yusei," Jack told him. "Our bonds are not broken so easily."

"Our bonds will lead us to victory," Crow added.

Yusei looked at his glowing mark. _'I haven't lost hope,'_ he thought. _'This last card is my find hope. My cards, please answer my call.'_ The cards glowed and he drew. "I activate the effect of Hardship, destroying it and Shooting Star Dragon."

"Why would you destroy your own monster?" Aporia asked surprised.

"Because it also destroys all equip cards on the field, including Red Nova Dragon and Black-Winged Dragon," she answered and the attack of Mekanikle returned to its original 4000.

"Your field is now empty. You have no way to defeat my Meklord," Aporia told me.

"My turn isn't over. I summon Mystic Piper. And now I release it to draw a card and if that card is a monster, I can draw another," Yusei declared and he drew Sonic Chick, allowing him to draw again saying, "In my hand lies hope. I activate my face down, Ghoul Summoner! This revives a synchro monster destroyed this turn and equips it to this card. So I summon Black-Winged Dragon (Attack 2800/ Defense 1600)!"

"Do you not get it? Synchro monsters are no match for Mekanikle," Aporia asked.

"I activate the other effect of Ghoul Summoner, allowing me to discard one card and revive another synchro monster and take damage equal to its attack," Yusei continued. "And I choose Red Nova Dragon (Attack 3500/ Defense 3000)."

"Are you really going to take that damage?" the opponent wondered.

"Black-Winged Dragon has an effect. It gains one Black Feather Counter and loses 700 attack, but also negates the damage," Crow pointed out and Black-Winged Dragon took the damage while its attack lowered to 2100.

"And Red Nova Dragon gains 500 attack for every tuner monster in the graveyard (Red Nova Dragon: Attack 4500)," Jack added.

"I then use the effect of Ghoul Summoner again. By discarding another card, I can revive Shooting Star Dragon (Attack 3300/ Defense 2500)," he called and Crow's dragon gained another counter while lowering to 1400 attack.

"Summoning three synchro monsters in one turn? Is this the true power of a Signer?" Aporia wondered in shock.

"The despair will be overpowered by hope," Yusei told him. "I then activate the effect of Black-Winged Dragon! By removing the two Black Feather Counters on it, I can reduce the effect of your Meklord Astro Mekanikle by 700 for each and inflict the same damage to you." The attack of Mekanikle and Aporia's life points fell to 2600 while Black-Winged Dragon returned to a normal 2800.

"And now Black-Winged Dragon has enough attack to surpass your monster," Crow pointed out.

"Black-Winged Dragon, attack Meklord Astro Mekanikle! Noble Stream!" Yusei ordered. Aporia's life points fell to 2400, though the opposing member used the effect of Mekanikle to remove a Meklord Emperor component in his graveyard from play, being Granel Guard, to prevent its destruction.

"Take the match, Yusei," Jack told him.

"Red Nova Dragon, attack Mekanikle as well! Burning Soul!" he continued. Aporia's life points fell to 500, but he removed Granel Attack from play to prevent his monster's destruction.

"I… I'm going to lose!" Aporia realized in utter shock.

"Our hope has surpassed your despair," Yusei proclaimed. "Shooting Star Dragon, finish this now! Attack with Stardust Mirage!" Her dragon attacked and destroyed Mekanikle and finished off Aporia's life points.

"How could my plan fail?! It couldn't have after coming so far!" Aporia exclaimed devastated. He reached out his hand which suddenly blew up. Jack, Crow, and Yusei pulled over to the side of the road as Aporia's damaged runner sped past them and ramped into the water where it blew to pieces.

 **Hey, guys! So, the next chapter may or may not be the final chapter of the story! Not sure yet on whether I'll have an epilogue or not. If I am, then it'll be two more chapters left. If not, the next chapter (titled: In Life and in Death) will be the last chapter. We'll just have to see!**

 **Until then my amazing readers!**

 **-bricann**


	35. In Life and in Death

**A/N: I DO NOT OWN ANY OF YU GI OH 5Ds! ALL RIGHTS GO TO THE CREATORS! THE ONLY THING I OWN ARE MY OCS!**

Chapter 35: In Life and in Death

Jack, Crow, and Yusei pulled over to the side of the road as Aporia's damaged runner sped past them and ramped into the water where it blew to pieces. Two of the Signers dismounted their runners while the Signer of the Head stayed on his, not having the energy with the pain to get off his runner.

"Nice win, Yusei," Jack complimented.

"The three of us did it," Yusei stated, still seeming to be in pain as he was panting, his eye showed pain within them, and he seemed a bit strained to speak. Jack and Crow ran over.

Jack immediately said, "We need to get you to the hospital for the surgery. I don't think we have much longer left."

"We should get back to our other friends first…" Yusei suggested seeming to get weaker and weaker with the pain. He was obviously beginning to fight to stay awake.

"No, Yusei," Jack retorted. "You're barely able to stay with us right now as it is. And we don't know how much more those cords have before they reach your heart and lungs. We need to get this done _now_."

"Jack's right, Yusei," Crow agreed. "The others can meet us at the hospital and see you once you're out of surgery."

"Guys, I-"

"Honestly, Yusei, listen to us this one time!" Crow ordered, cutting him off.

"Yusei, just listen to us and get to the hospital," Jack followed. "Please…"

"A… A-Alright," he gave in seeming even weaker than before. They looked up for a moment to see the sky clearing, meaning the danger was over.

"Come on, Yusei," Crow called, gently. They drove to the hospital with that.

. . .

As soon as they arrived, Doctor Akamine put Yusei into surgery to get the cords out. It didn't take long for the rest of their friends to meet Jack and Crow in the waiting room. They all sat in silence as they waited for the results.

Hours passed by that seemed more like a hundred years per hour. The wait was excruciating for all of them. They turned as Doctor Akamine came out to greet them, a sombre expression on his face.

"Well?" Leo asked.

"We managed to get the cords out," he began and they sighed in relief, "but there is a problem." They looked at him worried again. "It appears that the cords, when they reached their intended targets, wrapped around his heart and lungs. They were already beginning to seem to be trying to squeeze the organs by the time we managed to get them out."

"And that means what?" Crow asked.

"The amount of pressure they seemed to had already been applying to those vital organs wasn't minor at all. Yes, we got the cords out; but with the damage already sent at his heart and lungs, there isn't a guarantee he'll survive this ordeal. And even if he survived, we don't know what'll happen with his lungs. But to be honest, the chance of him surviving is slim," Doctor Akamine explained. That shocked them and they looked down in fearful sadness. "I am sorry about this. We tried our best. You may go see Yusei if you wish, but he's still unconscious. And I wouldn't have him moving his chest too much until he's healed if he survives this."

"Thank you, Doctor…" Akiza responded. The doctor nodded and walked off.

"So… there's a chance Yusei will still die?" Luna asked, looking down in her sadness.

"Apparently," Crow answered.

"Let's just go see Yusei," Leo suggested. "If he does wake up, I think he would want to see us."

"R-Right," Jack agreed and they walked to his room where they knew he'd be unconscious still and there was no telling if he would ever wake up.


	36. Epilogue

**A/N: I DO NOT OWN ANY OF YU GI OH 5Ds! ALL RIGHTS GO TO THE CREATORS! THE ONLY THING I OWN ARE MY OCS!**

Epilogue

 _ **Tsuyu no mannaka kyou wa ame agari**_

 _In the middle of rainy season today after rain fell_

 _ **Namanurui kaze shizukana yomichi wo**_

 _Lukewarm wind on the quiet street at night_

 _ **Toori nukeru natsu ga chikai**_

 _Passing by as the summer coming closer_

Yusei opened his eyes to find himself in what looked like an abandoned street of New Domino. Rain seemed to have just stopped, but everything was empty and a small wind blew against him.

"Hello?" he called as he walked forward. That's when he realized he felt no pain in his chest. But he quickly focused on finding someone in this devoid city.

 _ **Hikari kagayaki kono me wo ubai**_

 _A shining light blinds these eyes_

 _ **Te ni shitaku naru furete mitaku naru**_

 _Makes me want to grasp it in my hand and touch it_

Yusei noticed a shimmer of light from a garage in the distance. He slowly walked to it, not sure what to think. But the streets were still absent of any life. However, he kept his mind on that light. That had to have someone in there.

 _ **Anata wa kono hotaru no you**_

 _You're like those fireflies_

 _ **Mou iikai, mada mitai**_

 _Ready or not, I still looking for_

 _ **Mou iikai, sono kokoro**_

 _Ready or not, those heart_

 _ **Nozomu hodo kurushiku naru**_

 _It hurts me everytime I want you more_

Yusei eventually reached the lit up garage and found it to be his home. He walked in, but… no one was inside.

"Hello?" he called. "Is anyone here?" He heard a soft crying coming from his room. "Hello?"

Yusei entered the room to see a familiar young girl sitting there, but he couldn't remember where he knew her from. She had black hair and she sat on his bed crying. She seemed familiar to him, like he had seen her before a long time ago.

"Hello?" Yusei called gently, kneeling to her eye level.

She looked at him a bit in shock. "You couldn't save me," she stated, shocking him a bit with her sudden comment.

"What?" Yusei responded.

 _ **Soredemo kirai ni narenai**_

 _But I can't hate you, still_

 _ **Fuwari fuwari to chuu wo mau hotaru**_

 _Softly dancing fireflies in the midair_

 _ **Sukoshi hanareta basho kara miru no ga**_

 _Seeing them from a distant place_

 _ **Ichiban ii, sotto sotto**_

 _Is the best thing, silently_

"You… tried to save me," the girl stated. "And I thank you for that, but…" She began to cry again.

That's when Yusei realized where he had seen this girl before. She was the girl Yusei defended during his duel with Aporia. "What happened? The last time I saw you, you ran off before you could get hit at my instructions."

 _ **Tsukamenai, todokanai**_

 _I can't seize you, I can't reach you_

 _ **Tsukamenai, sono kokoro**_

 _I can't seize you, those heart_

"I was hit by one of the lightning strikes on my way to find my mother," she answered shocking Yusei. "And now… now we're both on the edge of death."

"What do you mean?" Yusei asked.

"It's just us," she answered. "Until they finish their choice of where we should go. We're trapped here."

 _ **Jibun dake ga omotte iru**_

 _It's just me who thinks of you_

 _ **Kanjiru to nakitaku naru**_

 _These feelings made me wanna cry_

 _ **Onaji kimochi ni wa narenai**_

 _We won't have the same feelings_

"What about my friends?" Yusei asked. "I need to get to them."

 _ **Mou iikai, mada mitai**_

 _Ready or not, I still looking for_

 _ **Mou iikai, sono kokoro**_

 _Ready or not, those heart_

"This is the end for both of us, Yusei," the girl stated sadly. "There's no returning from here."

"How do you know?" he asked.

 _ **Anata no kimochi ga mienai**_

 _I can't see your feelings_

 _ **Nozomu hodo kurushiku naru**_

 _It hurts me everytime I want you more_

"Because I've been chosen as the temporary messenger of the Crimson Dragon. Once I pass, the next one to arrive here will take my place," the girl explained, shocking Yusei further. "I'm sorry, Yusei. Going back to the living isn't going to happen."

 _ **Soredemo kirai ni narenai**_

 _But I can't hate you, still_

"There has to be a way," Yusei refused to believe. "I can't just leave my friends after this. After all we've been through. And you can't die, either."

 _ **Jibun dake ga omotte iru**_

 _It's just me who thinks of you_

"Yusei…" the girl muttered.

"We'll figure out a way out of here and back to the living," Yusei vowed. "We both will."

 _ **Kanjiru to nakitaku naru**_

 _These feelings made me wanna cry_

The girl began to tear up as a hopeful smile appeared on her face. "Okay! I'll believe you!"

 _ **Anata no kimochi ga shiritai**_

 _I want to know about your feelings towards me_

 _ **Anata no kimochi ga mienai**_

 _I can't see your feelings_

 _ **(Tsuyu no mannaka kyou wa ame agari**_

 _(In the middle of rainy season today after rain fell_

 _ **Namanurui kaze shizukana yomichi wo)**_

 _Lukewarm wind on the quiet street at night)_

 _ **Soredemo kirai ni narenai**_

 _But I can't hate you, still_

Yusei stood up and held out a hand to the young girl. "Then let's go," he suggested, giving her a smile.

The girl nodded and grabbed his hand. "Let's go!" she agreed.

They walked out of the garage and into the city. The clouds had darkened a bit, but showed no signs of precipitation.

 _ **(Sore de kagayaki kono me wo ubai**_

 _(The shining lights that deprives this eyes_

 _ **Te ni shitaku naru fureta mitai)**_

 _Makes me want to grasp it in my hand and touch it)_

 _ **Kyou wa ame agari**_

 _Today after the rain fell_

"Yusei, do you really think we'll find a way back to our friends and family who are alive?" the girl asked coming to a stop as they reached the main city's limit.

"I do," Yusei answered.

"My name's Ayumi, by the way," she told him.

"Well, then, Ayumi," Yusei responded, "let's get moving." They turned and walked on with that.

 **Alright, guys! The song in this is Hotaru by Fujita Maiko. The translations are varied between those who've translated it, so I just chose one. So I am sorry if the translation is off a bit or incorrect in some way.**

 **Now, this is the ending I have chosen. Yes, I know, I'm so evil for doing this. I am undecided whether I will go on with this in another story since this will be linked but a totally different area in general compared to this story and previous (though I probably will, I make no promises). You tell me what you want and I will respond! Until then, my readers!**

 **-bricann**


End file.
